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A  Yankee  Bachelor 
Abroad 


..©♦o. 


A  "Wee  Bit"  of  Wit  and  Fun  and  Some  Sober 

Facts  Gathered  During  My  Fourteen 

Months'  Sojourn  in  the  British 

Isles   and   Some    Parts 

of  the  Continent 


•o4>o» 


CHAS.  J.  BUTLER 
1901 


DA 


Copyright,  1901 
3y  Charles  J.  Butler 


PREFACE 


F 


REQUENTLY  I  have  heard  the  remark  made 
that  those  returning  home  from  their  first 
visit  to  Europe  have  a  keen  edge  on  their  de- 
sire to  again  visit  those  lands  across  the  sea. 

I  found  it  so  in  my  case  and  embraced  the  first  op- 
portunity that  presented  itself. 

After  a  sojourn  of  fourteen  months  in  the  British 
Isles  and  some  parts  of  the  continent,  I  bring  to  the 
reader  a  few  bundles  of  facts,  through  which  I  have 
spun  some  humorous  threads,  and  others  that  to  some 
may  seem  rather  sober. 

These  bundles  may  not  be  tied  as  neatly  as  some 
would  have  tied  them,   but-  the   reader   I  trust  will 
kindly  take  the  contents  without  criticising  the  wrap- 
pings. •        C.  J.  BUTLER. 
b^               Sept.  4,  1901. 


Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter  8, 
Chapter  g. 
Chapter  lo. 
Chapter  ii. 
Chapter  12, 
Chapter  13. 
Chapter  14, 
Chapter  15. 


Chapter  16. 
Chapter  17. 
Chapter  18. 
Chapter  19. 
Chapter  20. 
Chapter  21. 
Chapter  22. 
Chapter  23. 
Chapter  24. 
Chapter  25. 
Chapter  26. 
Chapter  27. 
Chapter  28. 
Chapter  29. 
Chapter  30. 
Chapter  31. 
Chapter  32. 
Chapter  33. 
Chapter  34- 
Chapter  35. 
Chapter  36. 
Chapter  37. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Voyage  Across  the  Atlantic 7 

Bonnie  Scotland 20 

En  route  for  Stirling 29 

The  Old    Castle 3^ 

Bannockburn 43 

The  Quaint  Old  Town  of  C 5i 

Trip  to  Aberdeen  61 

Ireland    74 

Blarney   Castle    83 

Dublin 86 

The  Custom  House  and  Four  Courts 89 

Bank  of  Ireland  and  Trinity  College 98 

Hospitals  and  Parks 102 

Breaking    Out  of  the  South  African  War  ...  no 
The  Dublin  Horse  Show  and  a    Trip  to  the 

Old  Farm "4 

Kingston    and  Bray 123 

The  Queen'*  Visit  to  Ireland  127 

The  Landing  of  the  Queen 131 

The    Queen  in  Dublin  138 

Belfast 143 

Some  of  the  Churches    148 

My    Return  to  Belfast  161 

Some  Witty  Boys  I  Met  164 

Some  Sad  as  Well  as  Amusing  Sights  171 

Belfast  During  the  War  in  South  Africa 176 

Some  Witty  Sayings  Heard  in  Ireland 180 

Some  Incidents  in  Mission  Work 183 

Some   Persons  I  met  in  Traveling 196 

Bangor  and  Carrickfergus 205 

Port  Rush  and   Giants'   Causeway 209 

Portadown,  Lurgan,  Bessbrook  and  Lisbon  215 

England   220 

Bedford 240 

Dover  and  Margate,  Seaside  Resorts 275 

A  Visit  to  the  Slums  of  London 318 

My  Trip  to  Paris   332 

Leaving  O  Id  England 353 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 


CHAPTER  I. 

VOYAGE  ACROSS  THE  ATLANTIC. 

IT  yees  down  on  the  wishin'  chair,  and  give 
three  wishes  before  yees  get  up,  and  they'll  all 
come  thrue,"  said  a  typical  old  Irish  woman  to 
me  at  the  Giant's  Causway,  while  on  a  visit  to  Old 
Ireland  in  the  summer  of  1894. 

"Well,  aunty,"  I  repHed,  "just  to  please  you,  I  will." 
As  I  seated  myself  on  this  stone,  encircled  by  three 
others  which  nature  had  so  formed  as  to  strikingly 
resemble  a  chair,  I  said  to  her : 

"My  first  wish  is  to  get  up,  for  it  is  wet  down  here." 
That  wish  is  soon  coming  true. 

"Oh,  don't  yees  be  gettin'  up  until  yees  have  made 
three,"  she  said.  With  a  small  grain  of  faith  in  the 
old  lady's  prophecy  of  wishes  coming  true  by  sitting 
on  this  stone,  I  hurriedly  made  two  others.  One  of 
them  was  that  Old  Ocean  would  treat  me  kindly  on 
my  homeward  trip  and  pass  me  safely  over  to  my 
friends  in  Old  America.  But  I  had  scarcely  com- 
mitted myself  to  her  care  when  she  lost  her  temper 
and  for  three  days  wreaked  out  vengeance  on  me.  I 
began  to  think  that  this  wish  would  be  a  complete  fail- 


8       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ure,  but  she  finally  calmed  down  and  treated  me  fairly 
well  the  rest  of  the  voyage.  The  other  was  that  I 
might  again  have  the  pleasure  of  visiting  historic  old 
England,  Bonnie  Scotland  and  the  beautiful  Emerald 
Isle. 

That  wish  was  a  long  time  coming  to  pass.  Not 
until  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1899  did  the  op- 
portunity come  for  me  to  embark  for  that  land  be- 
yond the  broad  Atlantic.  When  I  stepped  on  the 
wharf  in  New  York  with  my  luggage,  the  little 
Scotch  official  gathering  up  his  paste  pot  and  labels, 
walked  up  to  me  and  said,  "Have  your  luggage 
marked  'wanted'  or  'not  wanted?'  " 

"Wanted !"  I  replied.  If  he  had  known  they  were 
the  belongings  of  a  Bachelor  he  would  not  have  ques- 
tioned me  as  to  whether  I  would  have  them  put  in  the 
hold  of  the  ship  or  taken  to  my  stateroom.  For  what 
member  of  the  worthy  order  of  Bachelors  in  packing 
his  bundle  would  think  of  placing  any  article  in  it  but 
that  which  he  deems  necessary  for  present  use? 

The  accommodations  of  the  steamer  had  been 
painted  in  very  glowing  colors  by  the  agent  from 
whom  I  purchased  my  ticket.  When  I  stepped  on 
board  and  presented  my  ticket  to  the  steward,  he  said 
to  one  of  the  assistants,  "Take  this  gentleman  to  No. 
7  in  the  'Whale  Back.'  "  I  had  only  followed  him  a 
short  distance  when  my  visions  of  grandeur  began  to 
fade  away,  and  before  reaching  No.  7  they  had  en- 
tirely vanished.  The  'Whale  Back'  was  a  large  room 
spanning  the  stern  of  the  ship  just  over  the  immense 
propellers.  There  were  two  tiers  of  berths  encircling 
this  unattractive  looking  place.  The  iron  girders 
were  so  exposed  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel  that  if  one 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.        9 

was  thrown  from  his  berth  by  the  motion  of  the  craft 
and  came  in  contact  with  them  he  would  find  himself 
in  sections. 

"What  do  you  call  this?"  I  inquired  of  the  assistant. 

''It's  the  whale  back,  sir,"  he  replied. 

"Well,"  I  remarked,  "when  Jonah  took  his  sea  voy- 
age to  Tarshish  he  had  more  comfortable  quarters  in 
the  other  part  of  the  anatomy  of  the  whale.  He  had 
a  private  room  at  least." 

"Well,  sir,"  he  said,  "you  are  only  one  of  the  many 
that  has  made  complaint,  but  the  steamer  is  very  much 
crowded  and  this  is  the  best  we  can  do  for  you." 

I  hurried  off  to  the  wharf  and  inquired  of  one  of  the 
oiBcials  what  I  would  forfeit  by  not  sailing,  and  he  said 
very  briefly:  "Your  whole  ticket,  sir."  So  I  con- 
cluded to  return  to  the  whale  back  and  make  the  best 
of  it.  As  I  surveyed  my  quarters  and  thought  of  the 
eight  days,  at  least,  which  I  would  have  to  spend 
there  and  be  subject  to  the  rough  treatment  that  old 
ocean  was  likely  to  give  me  and  would  have  not  only 
my  own  account  to  look  over  when  Neptune  came 
around,  but  that  of  my  eight  or  ten  roommates,  I  con- 
fess I  was  not  in  a  very  cheerful  frame  of  mind. 

One  of  my  roommates  had  laid  in  a  large  supply  of 
^'old  rye."  He  had  not  only  his  bottles  filled,  but  was 
well  stocked  himself.  His  berth  was  below  mine  and 
I  concluded  if  I  inhaled  the  fumes  of  the  article  he  had 
so  freely  imbibed  I  might  find  myself  in  the  same 
tangled  condition. 

"All  ashore  that's  goin',"  shouted  one  of  the  ship's 
crew.  There  was  a  general  shaking  of  hands  and  a 
brushing  away  of  tears  by  those  bidding  farewell  to 
friends.     Soon  the  huge  whistle  blew,  the  shore  lines 


10       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

were  cast  off  and  two  tugs  bore  our  ship  from  her 
moorings.  We  hurried  down  past  the  great  docks 
filled  with  crafts  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Soon 
the  tall  buildings  and  spires  of  the  greater  New  York 
began  to  fade  away. .  We  bade  adieu  to  the  Statue  of 
Liberty  and  soon  the  shores  of  New  Jersey  and  Long 
Island  were  lost  to  sight.  When  the  shades  of  night 
settled  down  upon  us  we  were  far  out  on  the  bosom 
of  the  great  deep. 

''I  understand  you  are  not  pleased  with  your  room," 
said  the  little  Scotch  steward  to  me  as  I  met  him  on 
deck. 

"No,  sir,  I  am  not,"  I  replied ;  ''there  is  too  much 
of  it." 

"Well,  I  have  a  berth  in  a  room  in  another  part  of 
the  steamer  if  you  wish  to  make  a  change." 

"Any  place  would  be  preferable  to  the  'whale 
back,"  I  replied.  I  soon  had  my  luggage  packed 
away  in  my  new  quarters  which  I  found  more  com- 
fortable. 

My  roommates  were  two  Irishmen  who  were  going 
back  home  on  a  visit.  They,  like  my  former  room- 
mates, had  anticipated  a  "dry  spell"  and  had  provided 
bountifully  for  it.  One  was  a  man  on  the  shady 
side  of  sixty  and,  although  "Father  Time"  had  left 
his  marks  on  him,  he  had  not  robbed  him  of  his  youth- 
ful spirit.  The  other  was  on  the  sunny  side  of  forty 
and  was  the  real  essence  of  wit  and  fun.  The  old  man 
brought  out  a  large  bottle  of  whisky  and  proposed 
opening  it  in  honor  of  the  new  arrival,  and  pouring 
out  a  heavy  draught  in  a  glass  he  urged  me  to  take  a 
"wee  drap  of  the  crater." 

I  immediately  ran  up  my  temperance  flag  and  said  to 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       ii 

them,  "1  have  seen  too  many  crafts  wrecked  along  the 
coast  of  intemperance  to  ever  think  of  saiHng  in  that 
direction." 

'Well,  yees  air  better  laven  it  alone  than  takin'  it," 
they  said.  They  thought,  however,  they  were  better 
taking  it,  and  that  quite  often.  Aside  from  their 
weakness  for  the  bottle,  they  were  very  agreeable 
companions. 

Shortly  after  my  removal  I  heard  voices  pitched  in 
a  very  high  key  near  my  stateroom,  one  voice  so  much 
so  that  I  thought  it  was  near  the  fighting  point.  On 
opening  my  door  I  found  it  was  a  big,  burly  Irishman 
and  the  wee  Scotch  steward.  I  concluded  if  the  Irish- 
man laid  violent  hands  on  the  wee  Scotchman  there 
would  not  be  enough  left  of  the  latter  to  perform  his 
duties.  But  the  wee  man,  however,  seemed  to  think 
that  the  huge  fellow  would  simply  use  his  tongue  and 
not  his  fists,  and  kept  insisting  on  him  going  to  the 
purser's  office  to  have  a  matter  attended  to  which  he 
deemed  necessary.  The  difficulty,  I  thought,  might 
be  settled  by  arbitration,  so  I  set  about  to  fix  it  up 
that  way.  But  the  Irishman  gave  me  a  look  that  led 
me  to  think  my  services  were  not  required,  and  that 
if  I  continued  to  offer  them  I  might  get  a  discolored 
eye.  Nevertheless,  I  was  undaunted  and  finally  rea- 
soned him  into  complying  with  the  steward's  request. 
We  thought  we  would  find  him  a  very  troublesome 
character  for  he  was  so  generous  with  his  tongue. 
But  he  proved,  however,  to  be  quite  an  agreeable  fel- 
low and  entertained  with  his  amusing  stories  the  little 
company  gathered  about  him  on  deck. 

"I  have  Hved  in  America  for  ten  years,"  he  said, 
"but  I  have  never  been  able  to  get  me  old  woman  and 


12  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

the  children  to  leave  Ireland,  so  I  manage  to  go  over 
once  a  year  to  see  them,"  and  added :  'The  first  time 
I  went  to  America  we  encountered  a  dreadful  storm 
and  we  all  thought  we  were  about  to  be  lost  and  every 
one  began  to  pray  except  myself,  and  I  didn't  believe 
in  death-bed  repentances.  I  thought  I  would  die  as  I 
wrought,  but  made  up  my  mind  if  I  ever  got  ashore 
not  to  leave  my  prayin'  till  a  time  like  that,  and  Tve 
been  a  prayin'  man  ever  since." 

He  and  another  man  were  conversing  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion  one  day.  The  man  said:  ''Well,  I  am 
not  afraid  of  the  devil  ever  harming  me." 

"Well,  my  friend,"  he  replied,  "just  take  my  advice 
and  keep  your  distance  from  his  Satanic  Majesty." 

When  we  saw  the  little  dining  room  I  think  we  all 
had  a  suspicion  it  would  not  accommodate  the  entire 
company  at  one  time.  The  most  of  us  were  on  the 
alert  for  the  summons  to  the  first  table  and  when  it 
came  there  was  a  general  looking  out  for  number 
one.  On  the  faces  of  those  who  failed  to  make  the 
objective  point  there  was  an  expression  akin  to  that 
which  takes  possession  of  a  boy's  face  when  bidden  to 
wait  until  the  invited  guests  have  taken  the  edge  off 
their  appetite.  If  the  company  gathered  around  the 
table  gave  thanks  for  the  food  set  before  them,  they 
were  soon  in  a  different  frame  of  mind.  For  many 
of  them  began  weaving  threads  of  complaint  through 
their  conversation  about  the  accommodations  and  the 
service. 

"We  have  no  water  or  linen  in  our  room,"  said  a 
young  man  sitting  near  m.e. 

"How  do  you  keep  your  face  so  clean?"  inquired  a 
woman  sitting  opposite. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       13 

"Oh,"  he  replied,  ''we  have  a  sponge  attached  to  a 
string  and  drop  it  overboard  and  we  each  take  turns 
mopping  off  our  faces." 

This  remark  caused  a  roar  of  laughter. 

The  complaint  of  an  Irishman  sitting  near  me  was  a 
national  one.  ''Your  government,"  he  said,  "put  its 
hand  down  in  my  pocket  and  lifted  a  five  dollar  bill 
for  your  war  tax.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  your 
war.  I  protested,  but  your  government  was  too 
strong  for  me." 

"Well,"  I  answered,  "we  had  to  pay  for  a  leave  of 
absence  to  visit  your  side  of  the  Atlantic  and  I  am 
sure  we  did  not  turn  our  cash  into  the  United  States 
treasury  with  any  better  grace  than  you  did." 

"I  have  been  over  to  your  country,"  resumed  the 
Irishman,  "to  try  and  get  into  some  business,  but 
failed,  and  now  I'm  going  back  to  Ireland  to  take  my 
chances  of  slowly  getting  rich  there." 

One  day  I  was  absent  from  the  table  and  met  him 
coming  from  the  dining-room.  "Ye  missed  it  to- 
day," he  said.  "We  had  chicken  and  it  was  very  an- 
tiquated. I'm  blest  if  it  wasn't  the  same  old  rooster 
that  gave  St.  Peter  all  the  bother." 

"It  was  a  great  saving,  then,  to  my  teeth,"  I  re- 
plied. 

I  was  greatly  amused  at  the  different  conversations 
I  listened  to  on  deck.  A  young  Irishman  told  a  story 
of  two  Englishmen  who  visited  Ireland,  and 
thinking  to  have  a  little  fun  at  the  expense  of  an  old 
man  whom  they  met,  said  to  him : 

"Paddy,  did  you  know  the  devil  was  dead?" 

"Why,  no,"  said  Paddy,  "is  he  dead?  Well,  if  he 
is,  here's  a  couple  of  pennies  for  each  of  yees;  it  is 


14       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

customary  to  help  the  orphans  in  our  country."  The 
EngHshman  took  their  change  and  passed  on. 

We  had  a  number  of  Irish  and  Scotch  lads  and  las- 
sies on  board  who  were  returning  to  their  native  land. 
Some  of  them  were  very  interesting  characters.  One 
young  man  said  to  me : 

"I  have  been  living  in  America  for  a  number  of 
years  and  am  going  back  home  for  the  first  time.  I 
can  scarcely  wait  for  the  days  to  pass,  I  am  so  anxious 
to  look  into  the  face  of  my  dear  old  mother  living 
in  the  north  of  Ireland." 

Among  these  young  people  I  found  a  strong  love 
for  the  old  home.  There  were  two  lads  and  lassies 
who  formed  the  acquaintance  of  each  other  on  com- 
ing on  ship  board  who  interested  as  well  as  amused 
us.  Their  friendship  seemed  to  ripen  so  quickly  and 
they  demonstrated  it  in  such  a  striking  manner  as  to 
lead  us  to  think  that  instead  of  looking  up  their  friends 
when  they  landed  they  would  seek  the  services  of  a 
clergyman  to  tie  the  nuptial  knot.  Judging  from  the 
appearances  of  the  quartette  they  were  ancient  enough 
to  have  had  several  similar  attacks.  True  love  with 
the  Scotch  lad  and  lassie  did  not  seem  to  run  very 
smoothly.  One  day  we  saw  him  sitting  alone  and  she 
with  the  Irish  couple.     In  passing  I  said  to  her : 

''He  looks  rather  disconsolate."  She  replied  in 
broad  Scotch: 

''He  does  na  speak  noo.  He's  a  wee  bit  hufify. 
But  it  does  na  matter."  But  a  little  later  on  we  saw 
them  patching  up  the  difficulty  and  they  were  soon 
again  basking  in  the  warm  sunshine  of  love. 

There  was  a  young  man  with  an  imaginary  large 
head  and  had  it  filled  with  borrowed  ideas,  and  sat 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       15 

on  deck  and  aired  them  quite  freely.  One  day  as  he 
was  denouncing  Christianity,  an  Irishman  said  to  him : 

''Now,  yees  don't  mean  to  say  ye  do  not  beheve  in 
God,  do  yees?" 

Spreading  himself  out  and  looking  very  wise,  he 
said:  ''1  will  not  say." 

"Oh,  he  would  not  want  to  be  classed  among  those 
men  that  the  Psalmist  speaks  of  as  saying  there  is  no 
God,"  said  another  man  standing  near.  He  evi- 
dently had  read  that  part  of  the  Scripture  referred  to, 
for  his  face  flushed  with  anger  and  lifting  his  hat,  said 
sarcastically : 

"Oh,  I  did  not  know  I  was  in  the  presence  of  such 
a  wise  man." 

"Just  wise  enough  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  a 
God,"  the  man  replied.  This  man  and  the  Irishman 
turned  such  an  avalanche  of  truth  on  this  "wise" 
young  man  that  completely  silenced  him  and  we  heard 
no  more  of  his  notions  of  which  Tom  Paine  and 
other  noted  infidels  had  furnished  him. 

On  Sabbath  morning  we  had  divine  service  in  the 
saloon,  several  different  denominations  being  repre- 
sented. A  celebrated  clergyman  from  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.,  preached  a  plain,  practical  sermon  from  the  text, 
"What  is  that  in  thine  hand?" — Exodus  4:2.  The 
most  of  us,  I  think,  carried  away  thoughts  that  will 
be  helpful  all  through  life.  There  were  several  fine 
voices  in  the  audience  and  as  they  joined  in  with  those 
less  talented  along  that  line  and  sang  "Nearer,  my 
God,  to  Thee"  and  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul"  and  other 
familiar  hymns,  many  of  us  were  conscious  of  the 
presence  of  Him  who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  calmed 
the  stormy  sea,  and  we  trusted  would,  by  His  unseen 


i6       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

hand,  guide  our  craft  across  the  treacherous  Atlantic, 
safe  into  Firth  of  Clyde. 

The  weather  had  been  very  fine  until  reaching  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  there  we  encountered  a 
dense  fog  which  is  so  common  in  that  locality.  The 
doleful  sound- of  the  fog  horn  made  one  feel  like  being 
on  terra  firma,  and  especially  so  when  we  were  in- 
formed that  icebergs  were  frequently  seen  at  this 
point.  Just  after  running  through  a  great  fog  bank 
we  saw  one  of  those  formidable  mountains  of  ice  bear- 
ing down  upon  us,  causing  great  excitement  on  the 
steamer.  Some  of  us  viewed  it  through  field-glasses. 
It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  especially  so  when  the  sun 
broke  through  the  clouds  and  glistened  on  its  brow. 
It  was  estimated  to  be  about  fifty  feet  high.  In  the 
presence  of  this  huge  lump  of  ice  we  found  the  ther- 
mometer running  down,  causing  overcoats  and  wraps 
to  be  in  demand.  As  darkness  settled  down  upon  us, 
another  dense  fog  came  with  it  and  most  of  the  night 
the  fog  horn  broke  the  awful  silence  out  on  that  great 
waste  of  water,  reminding  us  we  were  still  in  the  mist. 
Most  of  us  felt  rather  uncomfortable  lest  our  ship 
might  come  in  contact  with  one  of  those  great  fields 
of  ice.  The  report  was  current  the  next  morning  that 
we  ran  dangerously  near  two  immense  ones.  A 
sailor  informed  us  that  they  were  about  two  hundred 
feet  high,  but  we  thought  to  knock  ofif  a  few  feet 
would  be  more  accurate. 

Just  after  crossing  the  Banks  we  encountered  what 
the  sailors  called  a  ground  swell,  and  our  ship  rolled 
heavily.  Up  to  this  time  old  Neptune  had  treated  us 
very  kindly  but  now  began  to  make  it  rather  uncom- 
fortable.    He  made  heavy  demands  on  very  many.     I 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       i; 

heard  them  loudly  protesting,  but  it  availed  nothing ; 
the  demand  had  to  be  met.  Knowing  something  of  my 
Hberality  on  my  former  trip  across,  he  came  around 
for  my  contribution,  and  in  order  to  keep  up  my  rep- 
utation as  a  generous  giver  laid  my  entire  stock  at 
his  feet,  and  keenly  felt  my  impoverished  condition 
the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

About  the  fourth  day  from  New  York  brought  us 
out  into  mid  ocean,  1500  miles  from  either  shore. 
Looking  out  over  that  dreary  waste  of  water  I  con- 
cluded if  our  ship  failed  us,  our  chances  for  reaching 
shore  were  not  very  hopeful.  Taking  this  extreme 
northerly  course,  we  seldom  sighted  a  vessel.  About 
the  only  sign  of  life  we  saw  outside  of  our  craft  were 
schools  of  whales  sporting  about  who  frequently 
turned  on  their  hose  and  tossed  great  sheets  of  water 
towards  the  clouds.  But  we  hardly  thought  any  of 
them  were  as  friendly  as  the  one  who  took  Jonah  in 
and  sheltered  him  for  three  days  and  finally  landed 
him  safely  on  shore. 

''I  did  not  think  it  so  great  an  undertaking  to  cross 
the  Atlantic,"  said  a  young  man  to  me  one  day  as  our 
ship  was  tossing  to  and  fro.  '  I  am  enroute  for  South 
Africa,  to  be  absent  from  home  for  two  years,  and  I 
vv^ish  I  was  homeward  bound. '  I  have  been  ill  since 
the  first  day  out  and  if  I  continue  in  this  condition  un- 
til I  reach  South  Africa,  am  afraid  there  will  not  be 
much  left  of  me  to  bring  back  to  America." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  'T  do  not  envy  you  your  voyage 
of  10,000  miles.  Keeping  the  same  mind  I  have  now, 
if  I  land  my  tall  form  back  in  Yankee  land  will  be  con- 
tent to  keep  it  there."     But  I  am  now  in  a  different 

2 


i8  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

frame  of  mind  and  would  roll  up  my  bundle  and  em- 
bark again  if  the  opportunity  offered. 

Among  the  children  that  played  on  deck  was  a  fine 
looking  little  boy  about  eight  years  old.  The  chil- 
dren styled  him  "English."  No  one  seemed  to  know 
to  whom  he  belonged  until  we  were  about  three  days 
out  from  New  York.  Then  a  tall,  handsome  man  and 
a  neat,  trim-looking  little  woman  made  their  appear- 
ance OH  deck  and  they  were  pointed  out  as  the  parents 
of  the  boy.  Well,  we  thought  if  they  were,  their 
honeymoon  was  holding  out  well,  for  they  were  as  at- 
tentive to  each  other  as  a  young  couple  who  had  just 
contracted  the  fever.  But  it  was  quite  understood 
when  one  of  the  ship's  crew  informed  us  they  were 
under  arrest  and  had  been  locked  up  in  their  rooms 
since  leaving  port.  She  had  lifted  some  of  her  hus- 
band's hard  earned  cash  and  had  gone  off  with  a 
"handsome  man,"  taking  her  boy  with  her.  But  there 
was  a  cablegram  preceded  them  to  America,  and  they 
were  met  by  an  officer  of  the  law  who  informed  them 
there  was  some  objection  to  their  settling  in  U.  S.  A. 
The  trio  were  therefore  shipped  back  to  the  town  in 
England  from  whence  they  came.  On  our  arrival  at 
Greenock  a  huge  fellow  dressed  in  uniform  came  on 
board  and  introduced  himself  as  a  committee  of  one 
to  welcome  them  back  to  their  native  land,  and  they 
were  hurried  away  to  taste  a  wee  bit  of  EngHsh  justice. 
I  met  a  man  shortly  afterward  of  the  same  town  from 
which  they  came,  who  informed  me  that  they  were 
both  snugly  quartered  in  the  old  prison  where,  I  pre- 
sume, they  had  time  to  reflect  on  their  failure  to  set- 
tle in  America. 

One  evening  while  pacing  the  deck,  anxious  to  hear 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  19 

the  welcome  shout,  'Tand  ahead !"  I  said  to  one  of 
the  sailors,  ''When  will  we  sight  land?" 

"To-morrow  morning,  sir,  quite  early,"  was  his  re- 
ply. 

We  were  on  deck  early  casting  our  eyes  out  over 
the  stretch  of  water,  trying  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  old 
Ireland.  And  what  a  thrill  of  joy  came  to  the  ship's 
company  as  some  one  discovered  the  faint  outlines  of 
the  mountains  and  sea  cliffs  of  the  County  Donegal. 
There  were  some  very  ominous  looking  clouds  skirt- 
ing the  horizon,  and  as  we  ran  along  that  wild,  rocky 
coast,  they  seemed  to  be  touching  the  brow  of  those 
huge  mountams  and  cliffs.  The  first  sign  of  life  we 
saw  outside  of  our  ship  were  three  Irish  lasses  stand- 
ing at  the  base  of  one  of  the  great  chffs,  waving  a  wel- 
come to  us.  Many  of  our  passengers  were  to  land  at 
Moville  and  be  taken  by  the  tender  up  the  beautiful 
river  Foyle  to  Londenderry.  Just  as  we  ran  into  the 
quiet  little  harbor  the  clouds  grew  very  dark,  and  as 
the  passengers  were  filing  aboard  of  this  odd  looking 
craft  with  scarcely  any  shelter,  we  had  an  exhibition  of 
good  old  Irish  weather.  The  rain  fell  in  great  sheets. 
While  many  of  these  people  might  have  believed  in 
sprinkling,  yet  immersion  seemed  to  be  the  order  of 
the  day.  As  we  saw  them  steam  away  we  did  not 
envy  them  their  uncomifortable  ride.  The  prow  of 
our  craft  was  soon  turned  toward  Bonnie  Scotland. 


20       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  H. 

BONNIE    SCO  f  LAND 


WHO  has  not  desired  to  see  Bonnie  Scotland? 
Especially  one  who  has  read  the  history  of 
this  grand  old  country,;  or  read  the  discrip- 
tion  of  it  given  by  the  different  poets? 

Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his  poetical  works  describes 
Scotland  in  a  beautiful  and  graphic  manner.  Who, 
after  reading  his  poem,  entitled  "The  Lady  of  the 
Lake,"  would  not  wish  to  visit  that  section  of  the 
country  in  which  he  gathered  his  inspiration  for  that 
excellent  production?  One  day,  while  standing  at 
the  foot  of  Ben  Ledi,  a  huge  mountain  lifting  its  head 
3000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  at  whose  base  is 
Loch  Lubnaig,  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  I  said  to 
m.y  friend,  Jackson:  'T  am  not  surprised  that  Scott 
caught  an  inspiration  amid  the  grandeur  of  this  spot." 

As  I  rode  from  Callander  to  the  Trossachs,  a  dis- 
tance of  eight  miles,  passing  the  Brig  of  Turk  on  the 
way  and  beheld  the  grandeur  of  that  mountain  scenery 
and  then  took  the  little  steamer  and  rode  to  the  head 
of  Loch  Katrine,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  sand- 
wiched between  the  mountains  lifting  their  heads  up 
nearly  3000  feet,  I  did  not  wonder  that  a  man  with  the 
poetical  nature  of  Scott  could  amid  that  magnificent 
scenery  clothe  his  thoughts  in  fine  language  and  pass 
them  out  to  be  read  and  admired  by  all  lovers  of 
poetry.  And  with  the  picture  in  my  mind  of  the 
troasceh  and  the  beautiful  city  of  Edinburgh  and  vi- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       21 

cinity  and  other  parts  of  Scoland  which  I  visited,  I 
am  not  surprised  that  the  Scotch  are  proud  of  their 
country,  and  I  join  with  them  in  caUing  it  Bonnie 
Scotland.  I  found  the  Scotch  people  as  a  rule  very 
cautious  and  rather  slow  about  taking  you  into  their 
confidence  until  they  learned  something  of  your  his- 
tory, but  when  once  they  become  your  friend,  you  can 
usually  depend  on  them. 

A  few  hours'  ride  brought  us  into  the  Firth  of 
Clyde.  The  great  hills  which  peeped  out  through  the 
mist  that  gathered  all  about  them  gave  us  some  idea 
of  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery  that  stretches  all  along 
on  either  side  of  this  river.  At  the  base,  and  terraced 
on  the  sides  of  many  of  these  hills,  were  beautiful  lit- 
tle towns,  some  of  them  summer  resorts.  We  were 
several  hours  steaming  up  the  Clyde  and  at  9.30  P. 
M.  we  dropped  the  huge  anchor  just  opposite  the  old 
town  of  Greenock,  built  on  the  side  of  a  hill  lifting  its 
head  far  above  the  Clyde.  V/e  remained  on  board 
over  night  and  early  next  morning  every  one  donned 
their  best  suit  and  were  in  readiness  for  the  little  ten- 
der which  conveyed  us  to  the  landing,  a  short  distance 
away.  Just  before  we  left  the  steamer,  a  fellow  with 
whom  I  had  occasionally  conversed  during  the  voy- 
age, came  to  me  and  said :  . 

"I  have  more  cigars  with  me  than  the  law  will  allow. 
Will  you  take  some  ashore  with  you,  and  I  will  get 
them  from  you  after  we  pass  the  custom  house." 

"Excuse  me,"  I  said,  "I  am  not  smuggling  anything 
for  myself,  and  am  not  in  the  business  for  any  one 
else."  We  left  him  planning  how  he  would  get  the 
best  of  the  EngHsh  government. 

On  landing  we  were  met  and  questioned  by  the  offi- 


22       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

cials  as  to  whether  we  had  any  spirits  or  tobacco. 
"We  have  not,"  was  our  reply.  "Do  you  wish  to 
examine  my  higgage?"  I  said  to  the  officer  who  eyed 
me  sharply.  And  I  presume  not  seeing  any  guilt 
stamped  on  my  face,  he  said:  ''Oh,  no,"  and  gave  me 
the  dismissal  mark,  and  we  hurried  from  the  custom 
house  to  the  train  in  waiting  nearby.  I  was  greatly 
amused  at  the  remarks  made  by  some  of  my  fellow 
travellers  who  were  paying,  their  first  visit  to  the 
Old  country.  Especially  so,  when  they  saw  the  little 
locomotive  and  compartment  cars  with  the  doors  on 
the  sides  and  seats  facing  each  other  for  the  accom- 
modation of  ten  persons.  Two  gentlemen  from  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  with  whom  I  became  very  well  acquainted 
on  ship-board,  were  with  me,  and  as  they  surveyed  the 
odd-looking  cars,  said : 

'Well,  I  guess  in  America  we  are  far  ahead  of  any- 
thing over  here." 

As  the  staid  Scotchmen  listened  to  the  Yankee  ex- 
pressions a  faint  smile  played  over  their  faces  as  thay 
looked  at  us  askance. 

Greenock  is  a  very  historic  old  town.  James  Watt, 
the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine,  was  born  there,  and 
the  grave  of  Burns'  Highland  Mary  is  here  also.  It 
was  once  a  great  shipping  point,  but  since  the  deep- 
ening of  the  Clyde,  most  of  the  shipping  is  centred  at 
Glasgow.  This  river  above  Greenock  was  once  a  nar- 
row, shallow  stream,  but  has  been  so  improved  that 
now  all  along  its  miles  of  quays  can  be  seen  vessels 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Stretching  along  on 
either  side  of  its  shores  are  immense  ship-yards  where 
some  of  the  largest  crafts  afloat  were  built.  One 
would  wonder  how  they  managed  to  launch  such  large 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       23 

vessels,  but  we  learned  they  did  so  sidewise.  They 
say  that  ''God  made  all  the  rivers  but  the  Clyde,  but 
the  Scotch  made  it." 

We  were  soon  hurrying  away  through  towns  and 
villages  through  a  pretty  stretch  of  fine  country  to 
Glasgow,  the  great  Metropolis  of  Scotland. 

GLASGOW. 

This  was  once  a  Roman  colony,  and  St.  Mongo  es- 
tablished a  church  here  in  560  A.  D.  At  the  time  of 
the  Reformation,  the  city  had  a  population  of  4,000. 
In  1708  it  had  12,000,  and  now  it  has  about  800,000 
inhabitants.  Although  it  is  sixty  miles  from  the  sea, 
it  is  said  to  rival  Liverpool  in  shipping,  Manchester 
in  cotton-spinning,  the  Thames  and  Tyne  in  iron  ship- 
building, and  Wolverampton  in  iron  furnaces.  As 
one  walks  along  its  busy  streets,  lined  on  either  side 
with  splendid  stores,  he  is  struck  with  the  push  and 
business  snap  of  its  people.  Buchanan  street  is  the 
finest  business  street  of  the  city,  and  contains  many 
large  and  attractive  stores. 

Argyle  street  is  a  business  thoroughfare  three 
miles  long  and  as  one  sees  the  vast  number  of  stores  on 
this  street  he  wonders  how^they  all  gather  in  shillings 
enough  to  stay.  I  went  into  one  of  these  stores  to 
purchase  a  "Hold  All"  and,  not  recaUing  the  proper 
name  of  the  article,  asked  the  saleslady  for  a  ''Catch 
all."  With  a  broad  smile  playing  over  her  face,  she 
said : 

"I  do  not  know  what  you  mean." 

Pointing  to  the  article,  I  said,  "That  is  what  I 
want." 

"Oh,  you  mean  a  'holdall.'" 


24       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Well/'  I  replied,  '1  want  something  to  'hold  all' 
my  belongings." 

Her  smile  broadened  into  a  laugh  as  she  wrapped 
the  article  up,  and  gave  me  a  look  that  led  me  to  think 
she  regarded  me  as  a  very  odd  piece  of  hum.anity. 

''Have  you  rubber  collars?"  I  asked  of  a  salesman 
in  another  one  of  the  shops. 

"We  have,  sir.     What  size  do  you  v/ish?" 

When  I  informed  him,  he  gave  me  one  rather 
smaller  than  I  required.  "I  think  that  will  answer," 
he  said. 

"If  I  attempted  to  wear  that  I  would  have  an  ex- 
pression on  my  face  similar  to  a  man  suspended  by  a 
hemp  necktie,"  I  remarked. 

He  either  wanted  to  see  a  demonstration  of  it  or 
was  very  anxious  to  make  a  sale,  for  he  was  loath  to 
let  me  go. 

The  municipal  building  is  a  massive  structure.  The 
interior  is  finished  with  the  finest  kind  of  marble  from 
various  parts  of  the  world.  This  city  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  best  governed  in  the  world.  Tfoe  city  gov- 
ernment is  composed  of  men  who  consider  it  a 
great  honor  to  fill  the  ofhces  to  which  they  are  elected, 
and  study  the  interests  of  the  city.  The  university  is 
a  very  imposing  edifice  with  a  frontage  of  600  feet. 
It  was  founded  in  1450  by  Bishop  Turnbull  The 
Botanical  gardens  are  nearby.  I  spent  some  time 
there  in  looking  at  the  many  choice  plants  and  flowers. 
The  Cathedral  stands  as  a  monument  of  the  long  ago. 
It  is  319  feet  long  and  sixty-three  feet  wide.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  church  yard  containing  many  very 
old  tombs.       I  was  very  much  interested  in  reading 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       25 

the  epitaph  on  an  old  stone  erected  in  the  memory  of  a 
noted  physician  who  died  in  1612.     It  read  as  follows  : 

"Ah  me!  I  gravel  am  and  dust, 
And  to  the  grave  descend  I  must. 
Oh,  painted  piece  of  living  clay, 
Man,  be  not  proud  of  thy  short  day. 
Stay,  passenger,  and  view  this  stone, 
For  under  it  is  lying  such  a  one 
Who  cured  men  while  he  lived; 
So  gracious  was,  he  no  man  grieved; 
Yea,  when  his  physic  forces  failed, 
His  pleasant  purpose  did  prevail; 
For  of  his  God  he  got  the  grace 
To  live  in  mirth  and  die  in  peace. 
Heaven  has  his  soul,    his    corpse,  this    stone; 
'  Sigh,  passenger,  and  so  begone." 

Glasgow  Green  is  a  park  extending  a  mile  along  the 
Clyde.  It  was  well  patronized  by  maay  of  the  poor 
people  in  that  locality.  It  is  said  that  while  James 
Watt  was  strolling  through  this  park  he  conceived 
his  central  idea  of  steam  engines. 

On  leaving  my  fellow-passengers,  I  seated  myself 
on  the  top  of  a  Tram  car  and  rode  through  a  busy 
portion  of  the  city  to  the  business  house  of  a  brother 
of  a  friend  of  mine  in  Philadelphia  to  whom  I  had  a 
letter  of  introduction.  On  my  arrival,  I  inquired  of 
the  saleslady  if  the  proprietor  was  in.  She  said  in 
broad  Scotch: 

''He's  na  in  noo,  but  will  be  aboot  noon.  Will  ye 
bide  a  wee?" 

I  seated  myself  and  awaited  his  arrival.  On  enter- 
ing the  store  he  scanned  me  closely  and  even  more 
so  when  I  arose  to  give  him  my  letter.  When  he 
found  I  was  a  fresh  arrival  from  Philadelphia  and  had 


26       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

a  message  from  his  brother  he  gave  me  a  welcome  that 
only  a  Scotchman  can  when  he  finds  yourself  and  an- 
cestors leaned  toward  respectability. 

''I  should  be  pleased  to  have  you  go  home  with  me 
and  spend  a  few  days,"  he  said. 

''Thank  you,  sir,"  I  replied,  ''but  have  arranged  to 
go  to  Stirling  this  evening." 

"Will  you  visit  me  on  your  return  to  Glasgow?"  he 
asked. 

"I  will,"  I  said.  And  did  so,  and  my  visit  to  that 
home  is  among  the  pleasant  memories  of  my  trip.  I 
was  very  kindly  entertained  by  him  and  his  good  wife 
and  daughter.     I  said  to  his  wife : 

"You  have  an  excellent  daughter;  she  is  quite  effi- 
cient at  the  piano  or  in  any  department  of  the  home." 

She  replied  in  a  way  that  made  me  laugh.  "Oh, 
she  is  neither  lame  nor  lazy,  an'  she's  braw  an'  supple 
with  her  tongue  as  well  as  with  her  hands." 

There  was  a  young  man  that  called  in  the  evening 
who  had  an  exalted  opinion  of  this  lass.  He  has  since 
led  her  to  Hymeneal  altar.  While  we  were  convers- 
ing, an  old  woman  came  into  the  store  walking  with  a 
cane  and  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  long  ago.  Her 
bonnet  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  made  in 
her  girlhood  days. 

"Here  is  a  very  interesting  woman.  I  want  you  to 
meet  her,"  he  remarked. 

"Aunty,"  he  said,  "here  is  a  gentleman  from  Amer- 
ica." 

"Well,  God  bless  you.  I  am  glad  to  hail  you,  com- 
ing from  that -great  country.  I  have  always  had  a  de- 
sire to  see  it,  but  will  never  get  there  now,  for  I  am 
old  and  poor,"  and  with   a   smile   playing  over   her 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       27 

wrinkled  face,  said:  ''But  I'm  not  forsaken,  for  the 
God  I  sought  more  than  forty  years  ago  is  still  looking 
after  me,  and  I  have  nothing  to  fear.  When  the  lads 
see  me  comin'  they  say,  'Here  comes  old  aunty,  and 
she's  still  preachin'.'  But  I'm  undaunted ;  I  tell  them 
I  will  preach  while  my  breath  lasts.  I  am  eighty- 
seven  years  old  and  will  not  have  much  longer  to 
stay.  But  when  I  go  from  my  little  home  I  shall  find 
a  better  one."  She  said  with  a  great  deal  of  pride, 
"I'm  Scotch."  But  her  brogue  betrayed  her  as  com- 
ing from  the  old  sod.     As  I  was  leaving,  she  said : 

"I  shall  never  look  into  your  face  again,  but  hope  to 
see  it  in  the  better  land." 

On  my  way  to  the  station,  I  went  through  one  of 
the  slum  districts  of  this  great  city  and  saw  the  most 
wretched  looking  women  that  I  have  seen  in  any  city. 
Most  of  them  had  an  old  shawl  over  their  heads,  and 
their  eyes  blackened  and  faces  battered  and  scarred. 
They  wore  very  short  skirts  which  were  as  badly  in 
need  of  water  as  were  their  bare  feet,  but  they  evi- 
dently did  not  believe  in  an  outward  application  of 
water,  or  an  inward  one  either  when  they  could  use 
anything  stronger,  and  many  of  them  had  a  heavy 
cargo  of  the  article  that  had  been  the  means  of  their 
downfall. 

Near  the  station  I  met  a  colored  man,  and  un- 
bleached humanity  was  so  rarely  seen  in  the  British 
Isles  that  I  could  not  pass  him  without  stopping  and 
having  a  conversation  with  him. 

"Are  you  from  he  States?"  I  inquired. 

"I  am,  sir,"  he  said,  as  a  smile  played  over  his  ebony 
face. 

"What  part  do  you  hail  from?" 


28       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

''Well,  sir,  I  am  from  North  Carolina.  I  came  over 
here  with  some  railroad  men  several  years  ago,  and  I 
don't  suppose  will  ever  get  back  again,"  he  replied. 

''Colored  people  are  very  scarce  in  this  country,"  I 
remarked. 

"Indeed,  sir,  they  are.  My  family  is  the  only  col- 
ored family  I  know  of  in  Glasgow,  and  we  are  kind  o' 
lonely,  for  the  folks  here  gives  us  the  cold  shoulder. 
Here's  my  address,"  he  added.  "Come  and  see  me, 
will  you?" 

"I  will  not  have  the  time,"  I  said,  as  I  bade  him 
good-bye  and  hurried  away  to  the  train.  He  was  the 
only  colored  person  I  saw  until  reaching  London,  and 
there  only  saw  very  few.  While  waiting  for  my  train, 
I  engaged  in  conversation  with  a  man  from  far  up  in 
the  Highlands.  He  expressed  himself  as  being 
greatly  surprised  to  learn  I  was  a  full-fledged  Ameri- 
can. 

"You  don't  have  that  nasal  twang  that  most 
Yankees  use,"  he  said,  "and  you  don't  use  those  ex- 
pressions, 'I  guess'  and  'calculate.'  When  our  people 
go  to  America,"  he  added,  and  remain  only  a  short 
time,  they  come  back  guessing  and  calculating  like  a 
Yankee." 

He  became  very  much  interested  as  I  gave  him 
some  account  of  our  great  railway  system,  and  said : 

"Eh !  but  you  come  from  a  wonderful  country." 


Sterling  Castle,   Scotland. 


May  Pole  Party. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  29 


CHAPTER  III. 

ENROUTE  FOR  STIRLING. 

IS  this  train  for  Stirling?"  I  inquired  of  one  of  the 
guards. 
''No,  yon  train  is  the  Stirlin'  train/'  he  repHed. 

Shortly  after  seating  myself  in  "yon  train,"  was 
speeding  away  toward  my  destination. 

"This  is  a  beautiful  section  of  the  country,"  I  re- 
marked to  a  man  sitting  near  me. 

"This  is  a  bonnie  part  of  Scotland,"  he  repHed. 
"Most  of  these  towns  we  have  passed  through  have  a 
very  interesting  history  connected  with  them.  You 
are  a  stranger  about  here,"  he  further  remarked. 

"Yes,"  I  replied.  "Although  I  was  here  about  five 
years  ago,  it  seems  quite  new  to  me." 

"What  part  of  the  world  do  you  come  from,  sir?" 

"From  America;  I  just  landed  in  Greenock  this 
morning." 

"You  have  a  great  many  of  our  people  in  your 
country,"  he  remarked. 

"Yes,  and  they  have  done  a  great  deal  toward  mak- 
ing our  great  Republic." 

"I  should  like  to  visit  America,  but  fancy  I  will 
never  have  the  privilege,"  he  said.  Then  pointing  to 
a  flag-staff  off  in  the  distance,  said,  "There  is  an  in- 
eresting  spot  to  every  Scotchman.  That  is  the  old 
Bannockburn  battlefield." 

In  travelling  through  the  country  I  heard  the  peo- 
ple speak  with  a  great  deal  of  pride  of  Bruce  and  Wal- 


30  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

lace  and  old  Bannockburn.  A  short  ride  from  this 
point  brought  us  into  Stirling  just  as  the  sun  was  hid- 
ing behind  the  great  hills  that  surround  this  historic 
old  place.  Stirling  is  a  very  ancient  town.  Five  cen- 
turies before  Arthur's  time  it  was  a  Roman  station, 
and  four  centuries  after,  a  Northumbrian  Fortress.  It 
has  a  population  of  16,000.  The  buildings  are  stone,' 
ranging  from  two  to  five  stories.  The  business  por- 
tion of  the  town  contains  some  fair  sized  stores  and, 
judging  from  the  fine  homes  in  the  residential  portion, 
many  of  the  merchants  have  been  very  successful.  In 
the  old  part  of  the  town,  there  are  a  number  of  long, 
narrow,  winding  streets  on  either  side  of  which  are 
many  quaint  houses  having  the  appearance  of  being- 
built  when  Stirling  was  in  its  infancy.  From  some 
of  the  streets  run  little  closes  (or  courts),  most  of  them 
wretched  looking  places,  and  the  occupants  seemed  to 
be  in  keeping  with  their  surroundings. 

One  day  in  passing  one  of  these  closes  I  heard  the 
sound  of  angry  voices,  and  soon  found  it  to  be  two 
auburn-haired  sisters  who  were  badly  shaken  up  by 
the  ^'fall."  They  passed  out  the  Scotch  expressions 
in  a  way  that  brought  forth  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the 
motley  crowd  of  spectators  who  seemed  anxious  to 
see  a  hair-pulHng  exhibition  by  these  two  old  lassies, 
but  they  simply  fought  it  out  with  their  tongues. 

A  little  farther  down  the  street  there  were  two  of 
the  worst  looking  women  I  had  seen  in  all  my  travels. 
They  were  well  charged  with  Scotch  whisky.  They 
had  their  ''wee  bairns"  wrapped  in  shawls  and  carried 
them  in  queer  style.  One  of  them  had  her's  strapped 
on  her  back  in  pappoose  fashion  and  held  it  by  the  two 
ends  of  the  shawl.     The  other  had  her  bairn  tied  in  a 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       31 

part  of  her  shawl  and  carried  it  at  her  side,  the  way 
that  I  saw  many  of  the  mothers  carrying  their  chil- 
dren. Both  of  the  women  were  roUing  like  a  ship  in 
a  storm.  In  passing,  one  of  them  ran  against  me,  and 
in  doing  so  struck  the  child's  head  on  the  sharp  edge 
of  my  autoharp,  causing  the  little  one  to  cry  out  lust- 

iiy- 

''I  am  very  sorry;  it  was  purely  accidental,"  I  said 
to  the  woman. 

"Oh,  it  does  na  matter,  it  was  na  your  fault,"  she 
replied. 

"What's  the  trouble?"  said  the  other  woman,  as  she 
staggered  over  towards  us. 

"Oh,  the  wee  bairn  struck  its  head  against  the  mon's 
fuddle,"  she  repHed. 

Two  desperate  looking  men  came  out  of  a  low 
groggery  and  joined  the  women,  and  the  quartette 
got  into  a  dispute  and  the  last  we  saw  of  them  they 
were  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  having  a  free  fight, 
while  some  of  the  same  stripe  of  humanity  were  trying 
to  rescue  the  bairns. 

Stirling,  like  every  other  place,  has  its  slum  district, 
and  the  men  and  women  lii^ng  in  that  locality  evi- 
dently have  found,  as  have  similar  characters  the  world 
over,  that  failing  to  keep  a  firni  hold  on  the  reins  of 
passion  means  wTeck  and  ruin 


32       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  OLD  CASTLE. 


iP 


HE  old  castle  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
places  in  Stirling.  It  stands  on  a  ledge  of 
rocks  on  a  very  high  hill  overlooking  the 
town.  It  was  a  royal  residence  as  far  back  as  990. 
Alexander  I  died  in  this  castle  in  1124.  It  was  be- 
sieged by  Edward  I  who  brought  with  him  all  the  be- 
sieging implements  from  London,  and  not  until  one  of 
those  terrible  engines  called  the  "Wolf"  was  brought 
to  bear  on  the  castle,  was  it  surrendered.  It  was  af- 
terward captured  by  King  David.  It  was  a  royal  res- 
idence under  the  Stewarts.  James  the  II  and  James 
V  were  born  here.  In  one  of  the  rooms  are  a  num- 
ber of  relics  which  belonged  to  James  III,  and  others 
belonging  to  James  V.  In  the  Douglass  room  is  a 
magnificent  stained  glass  window,  a  gift  of  Queen 
Victoria  in  memory  of  William,  Earl  of  Douglass,  who 
was  murdered  by  James  II  who  stabbed  him  in  the 
throat. 

From  the  battlements  one  gets  a  splendid  view  of 
the  town  and  the  surrounding  country.  Ofif  in  one  di- 
rection is  a  beautiful  valley  dotted  with  farms  and  lit- 
tle villages  with  the  links  of  the  Forth  winding  in  ser- 
pentine style  through  the  valley,  while  off  in  the  dis- 
tance can  be  seen  Ben  Lomond,  Ben  Venue,  Ben 
A'an,  Ben  Ledi,  huge  mountains  lifting  their  heads 
from  two  to  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Then 
can  be  seen  old  Abbey  Craig,  with  its  wooded  brow 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       33 

only  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  and  other  smaller 
hills  making  a  picture  of  which  any  lover  of  nature 
would  not  tire. 

One  day  I  took  what  is  called  the  ''back  walk,"  lead- 
ing up  to  the  castle.  It  is  a  broad  gravel  walk,  wind- 
ing around  the  hill.  The  rocks  on  the  sides  form  a 
complete  wall.  I  came  across  a  Httle  nook  in  the  side 
of  a  huge  rock  in  which  were  seats  arranged  in  semi- 
circle form,  and  above  the  seats  was  a  tablet  with  these 
words:  ''To  accommodate  the  aged  and  infirm  who 
had  long  resorted  to  this  spot  on  the  account  of  the 
warmth  and  shelter  from  every  wind,  these  seats  were 
erected  1817."  Also  a  stone  erected  "In  honor  of 
Wm.  Edmonson,  contriver  of  this  walk,  1724." 

Along  the  walk,  back  of  the  castle,  the  rocks  seemed 
to  be  piled  up  in  various  forms.  One  of  them  had 
fallen  over  a  small  chasm,  one  end  of  which  rested  on 
a  rock  on  the  opposite  side,  forming  a  bridge.  It  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  many  of  the  passers-by.  Seat- 
ing myself  under  a  ledge  of  rocks  near  by,  I  feasted  my 
eyes  on  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery  all  about  me.  It 
was  a  July  day,  but  the  cool  breezes  made  me  feel  like 
donning  a  light  overcoat.  It  hardly  seemed  possible 
that  in  far-away  America  they  were  tusselling  with  a 
hot  wave  which  I  learned  through  the  Glasgow  papers 
had  pushed  the  thermometer  up  to  a  hundred  in  the 
shade. 

"It  is  very  hot,"  my  friends  would  frequently  say  to 
me. 

I  smiled  and  said,  "You  would  think  it  quite  pleas- 
ant here  to  what  it  is  in  'Yankee  Land.'  " 

While  seated  in  this  cleft  of  the  rock,  a  fine  looking 
old  gentleman  came  over  to  rne  and  began  a  conversa- 


34       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

tion.     On  learning  I  was  an  American,  he  said  to 
me,  as  his  face  brightened  up : 

"I  have  a  son  in  your  country,  and  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  such  a  far-off  country  as  it  did  before  he  went 
over  there.  He  is  Hving  in  San  Francisco,"  and 
added,  "He  wrote  me  a  short  time  ago,  and  said  he 
was  just  as  far  from  New  York  as  I  was." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "that  is  true.  It  is  3,000  miles 
from  New  York  to  San  Francisco." 

"Why,  I  can  scarcely  realize  that  you  have  such 
an  immense  country,"  he  remarked.  "We  think  a 
journey  of  500  miles  is  a  long  one,  but  to  take  one 
of  3,000  miles  is  more  than  I  can  grasp."  He  gave 
me  his  card  and  wished  me  to  call  and  see  him  when 
I  came  to  Edinburgh.  He  was  interested  in  the  Sea- 
men's Mission  in  that  city. 

The  old  Castle  is  used  as  an  infantry  barracks. 
There  were  several  hundred  soldiers  quartered  there. 
We  became  acquainted  with  some  of  the  lads.  They 
took  great  pleasure  in  showing  us  through  their  quar- 
ters, which  seemed  to  be  quite  comfortable.  Among 
them  were  a  number  of  the  Scottish  Highlanders. 
Their  kelts,  sashes,  gay  plaid  stockings  and  rimless 
caps  to  me  seemed  rather  an  odd  uniform.  One  of 
the  boys  informed  me  there  were  seven  yards  of  ma- 
terial in  one  of  the  kelts  and  he  found  them  rather 
weighty.  Most  of  these  brave  lads  went  to  the  seat  of 
war  in  South  Africa,  which  broke  out  a  feAV  months  af- 
ter my  visit  to  the  castle,  and  many  of  them  fell  while 
storming  the  strongly  fortified  hills  of  that  far-ofif 
country.  Homes  are  now  desolate  all  over  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  because  these  noble  fellows  are  no  more. 

While  conversing  with  some  of  the  lads,  an  excur- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       35 

sion  party  came  into  the  castle  gate'.  Among  thecn 
were  two  Scotch  lassies. 

''I'm  wanderin'  where  they're  from?"  said  one  of 
the  soldiers,  which  remark  was  overheard  by  the  las- 
sies. 

One  of  them  quicld)^  turned  and  said  in  broad 
Scotch:  ''Ye'll  be  wanderin'  a  lang  time  before  ye'll 
ken." 

The  boys  laughed  heartily  and  the  lad  took  his 
change  very  quietly.  One  of  the  boys  said :  "You'll 
no  be  sayin'  any  mair  to  that  lass." 

On  coming  from  the  castle  to  the  cemetery,  which 
is  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  where  sleep  many  of  Scot- 
land's honored  dead,  we  met  an  old  blind  man  beg- 
ging. 

"It's  a  foin  day,"  he  said  as  he  kit  about  with  his 
cane  and  came  over  to  us.  At  once  we  knew  what 
his  salutation  meant.     He  was  talking  for  a  copper. 

In  a  conversation  with  him  we  learned  he  had  been 
at  this  point  for  eight  years  soliciting  alms. 

"I've  no  seen  the  licht  of  day  for  five  and  twenty 
years,"  he  said.  "I  was  a  sailor  and  one  day  at  sea 
was  accidentally  struck  across  the  eyes  with  a  chain 
and  was  blinded."  And  then  added  in  a  very  pathetic 
tone  of  voice,  "Me  folk  are  all  in  the  old  cemetery  save 
one,  and  he  was  drooned  at  sea." 

The  old  man  had  a  huge  blessing  for  those  who 
dropped  a  coin  in  his  hand. 

This  cemetery  contains  many  fine  monuments  of 
various  kinds.  There  was  one  in  particular  which  at- 
tracted my  attention  when  visiting  the  cemetery  sev- 
eral years  ago.  I  was  again  interested  in  reading  the 
many  inscriptions  it  contained.     It  is  a  beautiful  mar- 


36       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ble  monument  in  the  alcove  of  which  were  two  finely 
sculptured  figures  which  represented  two  excellent 
Christian  girls  who,  rather  than  renounce  their  faith 
and  trust  in  Christ,  consented  to  be  tied  to  a  stake 
on  the  Solway  ti-de  and  let  the  angry  waves  sweep  over 
them. 

We  came  to  the  plot  where  Professor  Henry  Drum- 
mond's  remains  had  been  recently  interred.  Stand- 
ing by  the  grave  of  that  excellent  Christian  man,  I 
thought  of  the  words  uttered  by  the  Apostle  Paul: 
''He  being  dead,  yet  speaketh."  It  occurred  to  me  it 
would  be  a  very  appropriate  inscription  to  place  on 
his  monument.  While  this  good  man  has  been  called 
from  his  life  of  usefulness  to  his  reward  above,  his 
books,  the  product  of  his  fertile  brain  and  heart, 
warmed  by  the  spirit  of  Christ  his  Master,  will  be  read 
with  interest  and  great  profit  by  coming  generations. 
He  was  the  Sunday  school  teacher  of  one  of  my  friends 
in  Stirling  and  he  was  very  loud  in  his  praise  of  Mr. 
Drummond  as  a  Christian  gentleman.  He  was  a 
bachelor  on  the  sunny  side  of  fifty.  He  left  a  wid- 
owed mother,  who  still  lives  in  their  fine  old  mansion, 
surrounded  by  splendidly  laid  out  grounds  on  the  sub- 
urbs of  Stirling.  She  is  a  woman  that  commands  the 
love  and  respect  of  the  entire  community. 

While  in  the  cemetery  we  met  a  typical  old  Irish- 
man. He  was  dressed  as  they  did  in  the  long  ago. 
He  wore  knee  breeches  with  bright  metal  buckles  and 
a  long  pair  of  yarn  stockings,  low  shoes  and  a  very  an- 
cient looking  coat  and  hat.  In  conversation  with 
him  he  said :  "Vm  from  ould  Ireland,  and  I'm  proud 
of  it.  I  left  it  many  years  ago  and  would  like  to  go 
back  again,  but  don't  think  I  ever  shall/' 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       37 

"Well,  there  is  no  place  so  dear  as  one's  native 
land,  I  replied. 

'That's  true,  sir,"  he  said.  "I  should  like  to  see  my 
old  home  once  more."  Then  pointing  to  the  plot 
where  he  informed  us  lay  the  remains  of  several  of  his 
children,  said :  "But  I  suppose  my  old  Scotch  lass  will 
be  hiding  me  away  here  in  a  short  time."  Then 
straightening  up  and  looking  me  in  the  eye,  said: 
"I'm  78  years  old  and  as  good  a  mon  as  I  iver  was. 
When  I  was  young,  I  feared  the  face  of  no  mon,"  and 
then  striking  a  fighting  attitude,  added,  "and  I  don't 
mind  them  yet." 

He  convinced  me  by  his  scientific  movements  that 
he  well  understood  the  art  of  discoloring  a  man's  eye. 

In  speaking  of  the  government,  he  said :  "The  Bible 
says,  'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  my  gospel 
to  every  creature,'  but  the  English  government  says, 
'Take  ye  a  gun  and  go  ye  out  and  kill  and  plunder,  and 
bring  the  spoils  to  London  and  thou  shalt  be  blest." 

There  was  a  tall,  slender,  old  woman  who  came  over 
and  seated  herself  on  one  of  the  graves.  She  had  a 
bag  of  new  mown  grass  which  she  had  just  gathered. 

"That's  my  old  Scotch  lass,"  he  said  as  he  pointed 
to  the  old  woman.  "She  was  pretty  nice  when  I  mar- 
ried her,  but  she's  gettin'  'crookeder'  all  the  time." 
She  leaned  her  elbow  on  the  bag  of  grass  and  gave 
him  a  look  that  led  us  to  think  that  the  old  lady  was 
well  able  to  look  after  her  own  interest. 

One  of  the  care-takers  came  over  and  said :  "That 
old  man  has  reared  some  great  lads.  Why,  but  for 
them  the  Stirling  courts  would  have  had  little  to  do." 

"Well,"  the  old  man  replied,  "I  built  one  jail  and  do 
what  I  can  to  keep  it  filled,  but  that  old  lass  sittin' 


38       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

there  always  has  the  shilHns  to  get  the  lads  out." 
He  began  to  whistle  an  Irish  jig  and  to  dance  the 
same.  ''You  ought  to  be  getting  ready  to  take  your 
place  beside  those  sleeping  here,"  I  remarked,  point- 
ing to  graves,  and  added,  ''moving  day  is  coming." 

He  quieted  his  feet  and  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his 
eye,  said :  "Sure,  I'll  be  ready  for  moving  day  when  it 
comes,  sir." 

I  bade  him  and  his  old  lass  good-bye,  thinking  it 
would  be  a  long  time  before  I  would  forget  the  jolly 
old  Irishman  that  caused  me  to  laugh  so  heartily,  even 
though  my  surroundings  were  of  such  a  character  as 
to  make  one  rather  pensive.  At  the  entrance  of  the 
cemetery  are  two  old  churches.  One  of  them  is  called 
the  church  of  the  "Grey  Friars."  It  was  erected  in 
1494  by  King  James  IV.  In  this  church  James  VI 
was  crowned  in  1 567.  John  Knox  preached  the  cor- 
onation sermon.  The  pulpit  from  which  the  sermon 
was  preached  and  a  »umber  of  old  relics  were  on  exhi- 
bition in  the  old  Guildery  near  by.  On  the  tower  of 
one  of  these  churches  once  fortified  agaiast  the  castle 
by  General  Monk  in  1651  and  by  the  Jacobites  in 
1746,  and  which  still  bears  the  marks  of  bullets,  is  a 
very  quaint  notice.     It  reads  as  follows : 

"Charges  in  the  old  church  yard:  For  a  person  12 
years  old  and  upward,  in  two-horse  hearse,  12  shil- 
lings ;  or  shoulders  high,  one-horse  hearse,  8  shillings ; 
12  years  old  and  upward,  if  on  spokes,  6  shillings; 
graves  for  child  2  years  old,  if  in  hearse  or  carried  in 
the  yard,  2-6  note.  The  sum  of  6-8  and  i€  shillings 
include  a  bag  for  bones.  In  case  in  digging  the  grave 
they  found  the  bones  of  any  one  previously  buried 
they  were  put  in  the  bag  anil  re-interred. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  39 

One  of  my  friends  was  telling  me  that  it  was  cus- 
tomary in  Scotland  a  few  years  ago,  and  is  yet  in 
some  places,  to  collect  for  the  digging  of  the  grave 
before  the  friends  left  the  church  yard.  There  was  an 
old  close-fisted  man  that  lost  his  wife  and  after  the 
remains  had  been  lowered  in  the  grave,  the  sexton 
stepped  up  to  collect  his  bill.  The  old  man  gave  him 
the  amount,  minus  one  shilling.  The  sexton  called 
his  attention  to  it. 

The  old  man  said:  'T'll  gie  ye  na  maire." 

^'Doon  with  the  other  shillin',''  said  the  sexton,  "'or 
up  she  cooms." 

The  old  man  concluded  to  let  the  old  lady  rest,  and 
came  doon  with  the  ''other  shillin'." 

There  is  an  epitaph  in  this  old  cemetery  to  which 
the  guides  are  very  particular  to  show  the  visitors.  It 
reads  as  follows : 

"Our  life  is  like  a  winter's  day; 
Some  only  breakfast  and  away, 
And  others  to  dinner  stay  and  are  full   fed. 
The  oldest  man  but  sups  and  goes  to  bed. 
Large  is  his  debt  who  lingers  out  the   day; 
He  who  goes  soonest  has  the  least  to   pay." 

Stirling  has  a  number  of  large  and  substantial  look- 
ing banks  and  also  a  number 'of  fine  schools  Avhich 
are  well  patronized,  judging  from  the  great  number 
of  children  that  one  sees. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  churches  scattered  over 
the  town,  and  one  would  think  from  the  multitude  of 
people  seen  on  the  streets  on  Sunday  wending  their 
way  to  the  various  places  of  worship  that  most  of  the 
people  of  this  old  town  had  a  religious  turn  of  mind. 
The  Presbyterians  are  the  leading  denomination,  hav- 


40       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ing  several  large  churches.  The  Baptists  seemed  to 
be  the  second  strongest  in  numbers,  the  next  *being 
the  Episcopal  Church.  The  Methodists  only  have 
one  church,  with  a  very  small  congregation.  The 
pastor  of  this  church  was  a  very  excellent  man  and  I 
spent  several  pleasant  evenings  with  him  and  his  fam- 
ily in  their  home,  in  company  with  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  his  church.  A  few  days  after  rendering  some 
service  in  their  Sabbath  School  by  singing,  accom- 
panied with  the  autoharp,  I  was  going  over  Gowan 
Hill  to  the  castle,  and  as  I  drew  near  a  group  of  little 
girls,  one  of  them  shouted : 

"Here  comes  the  man  that  played  the  fiddle  in  our 
Sunday  School." 

Thinking  to  draw  them  out  in  conversation,  I  stop- 
ped and  began  talking  with  them,  but  found  them 
rather  shy,  like  most  of  the  Scotch  children. 

One  day  I  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  wed- 
ding at  the  Episcopal  Church.  I  was  not  acquainted 
with  the  contracting  parties,  but  received  it  through 
my  friend,  who  was  intimate  with  the  groom.  He  in- 
sisted on  me  going,  even  though  I  did  have  to  do  so 
alone,  as  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  attend.  I  made 
my  way  to  the  church  through  a  drenching  rain,  not 
that  I  had  never  seen  a  couple  launch  out  on  the  sea 
of  matrimony,  but  had  some  curiosity  to  see  how  they 
did  it  in  Bonnie  Scotland.  On  presenting  my  card  to 
one  of  the  ushers,  was  shown  to  a  seat  near  the  front. 
Two  young  men  sat  in  the  front  pew  who  seemed 
very  much  interested  in  watching  the  guests  as  they 
came  in.  When  the  bride  came  up  the  aisle,  leaning 
on  the  arm  of  a  large,  fine  looking  fellow  whom  I  sup- 
posed was  the  groom,  one  of  these  young  men  left  his 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       41 

seat  and  took  his  position  near  the  chancel  and  she,  on 
reaching  there,  loosened  her  hold  on  the  supposed 
groom  and  grasped  the  arm  of  the  young  man  in  wait- 
ing, and  I  soon  learned  that  he  was  the  lad  of  her 
choice.  It  was  quite  understood  why  he  watched  the 
door  so  closely.  I  had  never  known  the  groom  to  be 
so  far  in  the  advance  of  the  bride,  but  bachelors  are 
not  supposed  to  be  very  well  versed  in  matrimonial 
customs.  The  rector  was  a  long  time  in  tying  the 
nuptial  knot.  I  thought  if  they  desired  a  little  later 
on  to  have  it  untied  (as  some  do),  they  would  have 
some  difficulty  in  having  it  done,  even  though  they 
came  over  to  one  of  our  western  states  where  they  so 
easily  sever  the  matrimonial  knot. 

One  evening  in  company  with  a  friend  I  went  down 
along  the  banks  of  the  winding  Firth,  which  is  navig- 
able for  small  crafts  as  far  as  Stirling.  Then  we 
crossed  the  meadows  to  Abbey  Craig  and  climbed  to 
its  summit.  It  was  a  long,  tiresome  journey,  and 
more  than  once  said  to  my  friend,  'T  shall  not  be  able 
to  scale  the  mount."  But  he  urged  me  on  by  telling 
me  of  the  grand  view  I  would  get  from  its  peak.  On 
reaching  the  top  I  was  amply  repaid.  The  scenery 
from  this  point  was  sublime.  Far  below  was  the  old 
town,  and  a  short  distance  away  was  the  Bridge  of 
Allen,  a  health  resort,  and  across  the  valley  nestled 
the  quaint  little  village  of  Cambusbaron.  It  was 
nearly  10  o'clock  when  we  came  down  from  that  huge 
pile  of  mother  earth  and  rocks,  and  darkness  had  just 
began  to  settle  down  on  the  old  world.  In  the  sum- 
mer evenings  quite  often  they  have  the  twilight  nearly 
all  night.  But  in  the  winter  season  it  grows  dark 
much  earlier  than  in  America. 


42       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

A  drove  of  Highland  cattle  interested  me  very 
much,  which  two  men  had  brought  from  far  up  in  the 
highlands.  Two  fine  shepherd  dogs  were  rendering 
them  great  assistance  in  keeping  the  cattle  in  line. 
These  cattle  are  quite  small  and  have  long,  shaggy 
hair,  their  forelocks  being  of  great  length — most  of 
them  touching  their  nose.  They  have  large  horns  ex- 
tending out  some  distance,  then  shghtly  bowed. 

In  company  with  some  friends,  I  spent  an  evening 
with  a  blind  couple.  They  were  very  talented.  He 
was  a  fine  musician  and  she  had  a  literary  turn  of  mind. 
They  had  both  been  blind  from  childhood,  but  not- 
withstanding their  blindness,  they  had  not  escaped  the 
darts  of  cupid.  They  had  a  ''wee  bairn"  and  it  was 
interesting  as  well  as  touching  to  see  that  mother 
bending  over  the  cradle  soothing  the  little  one  when 
it  became  restless.  When  it  lifted  up  its  voice  and 
struck  notes  which  are  usually  discordant  to  a  bach- 
elor, she  tenderly  gathered  it  up  and  sang  a  lullaby 
that  she  wrote  on  the  ''Bairn."  Her  husband  ren- 
dered some  very  classical  music.  The  evening  spent 
with  the  blind  couple  was  a  very  enjoyable  one. 

I  met  several  of  the  friends  of  my  former  visit  and 
added  many  others  to  the  list  during  my  fortnight  in 
Stirling  and  vicinity. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       43 


CHAPTER  V. 

BANNOCKBURN. 

@NE  afternoon  I  rode  from  Stirling  on  a  ''Break'' 
to  the  old  Bannockburn  battlefield.  The  ride 
was  a  very  pleasant  one.  We  passed  through 
the  old  Saint  Inians  district.  Many  of  the  houses 
were  very  old.  The  terminus  of  the  line  was  at  an- 
other very  ancient  looking  village  which  was  some 
distance  beyond  the  point  where  I  should  have  gotten 
ofT,  but  concluded  to  continue  the  journey  to  the  old 
town.  On  leaving  the  "Break,"  I  saw  a  crowd  gath- 
ered around  some  small  tents.  My  curiosity  led  me 
to  go  over  and  learn  the  cause  of  this  gathering.  On 
doing  so  I  found  it  was  a  gypsy  encampment.  One 
of  the  old  sisters  had  a  spirit  akin  to  that  of  the  witch 
of  Endor,  and  she  was  doing  a  thriving  business,  but 
my  faith  in  her  ability  to  foretell  future  events  was  not 
sufficient  for  me  to  give  her  my  patronage.  When  a 
lad,  in  company  with  a  friend,  I  visited  one  of  these 
professedly  wise  old  bodies  and  left  a  hard-earned 
piece  of  silver  with  her  for  a -little  bundle  of  startling 
events  that  were  to  come  my  wa}^,  but  as  yet  have 
failed  to  become  facts.  After  remaining  a  short  time 
at  this  point  I  inquired  my  way  of  a  man  to  the  battle- 
field. 

"Take  yon  street,"  he  said,  "and  it  will  lead  you  to  a 
mill  and  just  beyond  the  race  you  will  find  stepping 
stones  across  the  brook.  Follow  the  path  on  yon 
side  and  it  will  lead  you  to  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  battle  ground. 


44       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

I  went  as  he  directed  to  the  mill  and  then  through 
an  old  farm  yard  to  the  stepping  stones,  and  crossed 
the  brook  and  walked  along  a  beautiful  road  on  one 
side  of  which  this  little  stream  came  tumbling  down 
over  the  rocks.  Missing  my  way,  I  came  out  into  a 
field  where  some  boys  were  playing  foot  ball. 

''Will  you  direct  me  to  Bannockburn?"  I  asked  a 
very  odd  looking  boy.  He  made  no  reply  but  simply 
gazed  at  me  in  a  dazed  condition. 

"What  do  you  want?"  said  another  boy  as  he  came 
up  to  me.     When  I  informed  him,  he  said : 

"Oh,  just  go  to  yon  stone  steps  and  that  will  lead 
you  to  yon  field  and  it  is  straight  across."  When  I 
left  the  boys,  I  overheard  the  odd  looking  lad  shout : 
"Eh,  he's  gaen  to  yon  flag  staff." 

I  climbed  the  stone  stairway  leading  up  to  the 
wheat  field  and  took  the  well-beaten  path  beside  the 
hedge.  In  the  adjoining  field  were  a  number  of  men 
and  women  hoeing.  When  they  saw  my  huge  form 
towering  far  above  the  hedge  rows  they  rested  on 
their  hoes  and  cast  some  very  inquiring  looks  over 
toward  me.  A  short  walk  brought  me  out  to  the  little 
village  and  I  soon  found  my  way  to  this  historic  old 
battlefield.  On  the  top  of  a  hill  is  the  Borestone 
which  once  held  the  old  flag  beside  which  Bruce 
stood  and  directed  the  battle  that  made  him  famous 
and  which  won  the  independence  of  Scotland,  until 
the  Scotch  voluntarily  put  themselves  under  the  flag 
of  Old  England.  As  I  stood  beside  the  flag  staff, 
from  the  top  of  which  was  fiying  the  Union  Jack,  and 
loodek  out  over  that  beautiful  valley  with  those  great 
hills  rolling  ofT  in  the  distance,  I  fancied  I  could  see 
those  warriors  of  centuries  ago  engaged  in  that  terri- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       45 

ble  conflict,  and  imagined  I  could  hear  the  groans  of 
the  wounded  and  dying  that  broke  the  silence  that 
seemed  to  pervade  that  spot.  Seating  myself  on  a 
bench,  I  quite  enjoyed  the  fine  scenery  stretching  out 
in  all  directions.  Near  me  sat  a  man  and  two  women 
who  were  using  the  broad  Scotch  quite  freely.  His 
vision  was  dimmed  by  an  overdose  of  Scotch  whisky, 
but  it  had  loosened  his  tongue  so  that  it  was  running 
at  a  rapid  rate.     Presently  he  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"Are  ye  Scotch?" 

"No,"  I  replied,  "I  am  a  Yankee." 

"Gie  me  yer  hand,"  he  said,  as  he  extended  his 
brawny  hand  toward  me.  I  did  so  and  Scotland  and 
America  shook  warmly.  Then  he  said  something  in 
Scotch  to  the  w^omen  that  convulsed  them  with  laugh- 
ter. Not  feeling  quite  sure  about  my  nationality,  he 
said  to  me : 

"Are  ye  English?" 

"No,  I  guess  not,"  I  replied. 

He  gave  me  a  sharp  look  and  said,  'Ye  had  better 
no  be  'guessin'  aboot  here." 

"Well,  are  you  Scotch?"  I  inquired.  He  gave  a 
vacant  laugh  and  said :  "I  think  so,  but  I'm  no  sure." 
The  trio  began  spinning  some  very  dark  threads 
through  their  conversation  which  I  concluded  would 
not  be  very  edifying,  so  I  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

After  spending  some  time  in  looking  around  the  old 
battlefield,  turned  my  steps  back  to  Stirling.  On  my 
way  back  I  passed  several  little  thatched  and  tile- 
roofed  cottages.  Some  of  them  were  quite  attractive 
being  newly  white-washed  and  rose  bushes  in  full 
bloom  climbing  up  the  sides  and  fronts  of  the  cot- 
tages.    In  going  through  the  St.  Inian's  district,  I 


46       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

came  to  an  old  church  in  which  stands  a  very  ancient 
looking  tower.  Curious  to  know  something  of  its 
history,  I  stopped  and  made  some  inquiry  about  it. 
It  was  once  the  tower  of  an  old  church  used  by  the 
Jacobites  in  1746  as  a  magazine.  On  learning  of  the 
approach  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  they  blew  the 
church  up  and  left  the  tower.  There  were  a  number 
of  tombs  in  the  church-yard  dating  as  far  back  as  1632. 
I  visited  so  many  old  graveyards  in  England,  Ireland 
and  Scotland  that  I  finally  concluded  it  could  be  said 
of  me  like  one  in  the  Scriptures :  "He  dwelt  among 
the  tombs."  While  in  the  church-yard,  two  young 
men  came  near  and  they  engaged  in  conversation 
with  me  about  the  old  tower  and  finally  said  to  me : 

''We  have  just  come  from  Glasgow  on  an  excursion. 
This  is  the  week  of  the  Glasgow  Fair  and  it  is  a  gen- 
eral holiday  time,  so  we  thought  we  would  visit  this 
old  town." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  I  have  noticed  great  crowds  of 
people  in  Stirling  all  during  the  week?" 

"What  part  of  the  world  do  you  hail  from?"  they 
inquired. 

"From  America." 

"We  are  very  much  interested  in  that  country," 
they  replied,  "for  our  sister  is  living  there.  Her 
home  is  in  Providence,  R.  I.  Father  and  mother  died 
some  time  ago."  They  added,  "And  we  moved  from 
the  old  home  and  rented  a  flat,  and  sister  kept  house 
for  us  a  little  while,  but  she  grieved  so  about  the  death 
of  our  parents  that  her  health  began  to  fail,  so  she 
concluded  to  go  to  America  and  make  her  home  with 
a  cousin,  thinking  the  change  might  benefit  hen" 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       47 

''Rather  a  sad  thing,"  I  said,  ''to  have  the  home 
circle  broken  up/' 

"Oh,  indeed  it  is,  sir,"  one  of  them  repHed.  "We 
find  it  especially  so  now,  since  we  have  to  keep  bach- 
elor's hall,"  he  further  remarked.  "We  had  a  good 
father  and  mother,"  said  the  younger  one.  "Father 
was  an  elder  in  one  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
Glasgow  for  many  years,  and  mother  was  also  a  fine 
Christian.  I  fancy  now  I  can  feel  the  touch  of  her 
hand  on  my  head,  as  I  did  when  I  was  a  wee  boy  and 
knelt  at  her  knee  in  prayer." 

Feeling  assured  I  was  in  the  company  of  two  of 
Scotland's  choice  lads,  I  became  very  much  interested 
in  them.  When  the  clock  in  the  old  tower  struck 
one,  I  was  reminded  that  we  had  been  standing  beside 
the  old  moss-covered  tombstone  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion just  one  hour.     On  leaving  them,  they  said : 

"Will  you  call  and  see  us  when  you  come  to  Glas- 
gow?" 

"If  I  find  the  time,  would  be  pleased  to  do  so,"  I 
replied.  One  evening  on  my  return  to  Glasgow  I 
said  to  my  friend,  Mr.  Hood : 

"I  am  going  to  call  at  No.  2s7  C Street  and  see 

two  gentlemen  I  met  at  Stirling.  Being  a  pretty 
good  reader  of  human  nature,  I  think  I  am  correct  in 
the  opinion  I  formed  of  these  lads.  However,  if  I 
don't  return,  you  will  know  where  to  start  the  clew  to 
the  missing  Yankee." 

He  smiled  and  said,  "I  shall  not  be  very  much  con- 
cerned about  3^our  safety." 

A  comparatively  short  ride  on  the  top  of  the  tram 
car  brought  me  to  their  home,  which  was  in  a  favora- 
ble part  of  the  city.     On  reaching  the  second  floor  of 


48       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

this  large  tenement  house  I  saw  their  name  on  one  of 
the  doors  and  shortly  after  pulling  the  bell  it  was  an- 
swered by  "J^i^^es,"  the  elder  of  the  two. 

"Come  in,  sir;  you  are  welcome  to  our  home/'he 
said,  with  a  good,  honest  ring  to  his  invitation. 
"Bob"  arose  and  gave  me  just  as  cordial  a  welcome 
as  did  his  brother.  Casting  my  eyes  about  the  room. 
I  soon  concluded  that  Butler  and  his  belongings 
would  be  perfectly  safe  in  that  home.  On  the  wall  of 
the  parlor  hung  a  large  portrait  of  their  father,  whose 
face  indicated  the  truth  of  his  son's  statement  that  "he 
was  a  good  man."  There  were  also  a  number  of 
Scripture  texts  hanging  on  the  walls  of  the  two  rooms 
they  occupied.  They  took  great  pride  in  showing  me 
the  library  that  belonged  to  their  father.  Seeing 
among  the  collection  a  copy  of  Bobby  Burn's  poems, 
I  requested  one  of  them  to  read  me  "The  Cotter's  Sat- 
urday Night,"  which  he  did  and  explained  the  mean- 
ing of  many  of  the  Scotch  phrases.  Then  we  had  a 
few  Scotch  airs  on  the  piano,  after  which  I  gave  them 
a  number  of  Yankee  pieces  on  the  autoharp.  The 
evening  was  spent  very  pleasantly  and  the  time  passed 
so  quickly  I  found  it  later  than  I  was  aware. 

"You  must  remain  with  us  over  night,"  they  said. 

"No,  I  could  not  think  of  that,"  I  replied. 

"We  shall  insist  on  it,"  they  said.  I  finally  con- 
sented to  do  so,  and  we  were  all  three  soon  tucked 
away  in  the  large  "set  in"  bed. 

"Boys,"  I  said,  "when  we  want  to  change  positions 
we  shall  have  to  give  notice  and  all  do  so  at  once." 
The  little  room  rang  with  laughter  when  thesignal  was 
given  to  "shift."  We  finally  got  quieted  and  drifted 
away  to  dreamland. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       49 

On  awakening  the  next  morning,  I  saw  "Ji^"  care- 
fully preparing  the  morning  meal  which  consisted  of 
oat  meal  porridge  (chief  of  Scotia's  food)  and  a  few 
other  substantials.  It  greatly  amused  me  as  these 
two  fellows  who  had  all  the  symptoms  of  an  old  bach- 
elor, and  I  the  full-fledged  one,  gathered  around  the 
table. 

''Well,  boys,"  I  said,  "the  last  stage  of  bachelorhood 
is  manipulating  the  cooking  utensils,  but  I  am  thank- 
ful I  have  not  yet  reached  that  point." 

"Well,"  they  repHed,  "as  soon  as  our  lease  expires 
we  expect  to  abandon  the  pots  and  pans."  This 
motto  I  thought  I  could  suggest :  "What  is  home 
without  a  woman?" 

They  gave  a  very  pressing  invitation  to  pay  them 
another  visit  before  leaving  for  home  and  the  night  of 
the  confirmation  of  the  report  of  the  fah  of  Pretoria, 
South  Africa,  I  sailed  from  Belfast  for  Glasgow,  and 
on  the  arrival  of  the  train  from  Addrossan  was  met  at 
the  station  by  "Jim  and  "Bob"  and  taken  to  their 
home  at  Tolcross  where  they  had  recently  removed. 
Before  going  out  to  their  home  we  went  out  in  the 
city  to  see  the  great  demonstration.  The  streets  were 
filled  with  very  enthusiastic  people.  There  was  a 
military  and  also  a  civic  parade,  accompanied  with 
brass  bands,  and  fife  and  drum  corps.  There  was  an 
illuminated  street  car  which  was  a  beautiful  sight. 
On  the  top  of  it  were  some  of  the  city  officials  who 
were  being  cheered  along  the  route.  If  all  the 
Queen's  subjects  were  as  loyal  as  the  Scotch  seemed 
to  be,  and  their  patriotism  led  them  to  take  up  arms 
and  go  to  the  front,  her  troubles  would  soon  be  at  an 
end  in  South  Africa.     We  rode  on  the  under-ground 


50  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

railroad  to  various  points  in  the  city  and  found  great 
rejoicing  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Glasgow  is  com- 
pletely honey-combed  with  the  mider-ground  railway. 
They  have  also  tunneled  the  Clyde. 

Among  some  of  the  odd  names  of  the  towns  on  the 
board  at  the  railway  stations  was  Motherwell  and 
Bothwell.  There  is  a  historic  pun  my  friends  said 
about  these  two  places.  The  platform  porter 
shouted,  ''Motherwell!"  A  sympathetic  traveler  in- 
quired, "Is  Father  well?"  "A  bit  west,"  responded 
the  porter,  "and  ye'll  find  Bothwell." 

Tolcross  is  a  suburb,  a  short  distance  from  the  city. 
The  lady  with  whom  Jim  and  Bob  boarded,  used  the 
broadest  kind  of  Scotch,  as  did  the  children.  One  of 
her  boys  had  a  pugilistic  turn  of  mind,  and  one  day 
got  into  difficulty  with  another  boy.  She  leaned  out 
of  the  window  and  shouted  to  the  boy  to  come  home 
and  when  he  did  so  she  reproved  him  for  his  conduct. 

"Di  ye  think  I'm  gaun  tae  staun  like  a  stookey  an 
let  him  hit  me?"  said  the  young  lad. 

After  a  brief  stay  with  Jim  and  Bob,  bade  them 
good-bye  and  concluded  that  Bonnie  Scotland  could 
well  be  proud  of  such  lads  as  they. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  QUAINT   OLD   TOWN   OF  C . 

r  SPENT  several  days  in  the  quaint  little  village  of 
C in  the  Highlands.  On  either  side  of  the 
two  long,  narrow,  winding  streets  of  the  village 
were  many  little  thatched  and  tile-roofed  cottages. 
Some  of  them,  I  was  informed,  were  several  hundred 
years  old,  and  I  concluded  they  were  from  their  ap- 
pearance. On  calling  at  a  home  I  had  formerly  .vis- 
ited, was  met  at  the  door  by  a  motherly  old  lady  who 
gave  me  a  very  cordial  reception.    She  said : 

"I  did  na  ken  you  was  comin.  I'm  no  tidied  up. 
Come  awa-ben  an  mak'  yoursel  at  hame." 

I  followed  her  into  the  little,  neatly  furnished  room, 
and  after  she  made  some  inquiry  about  some  of  my 
friends  in  America,  she  said : 

"There's  been  mony  changes  since  you  were  here 
last."  Then  pointing  to  the  photo  of  her  husband 
which  hung  on  the  v^all,  added:  "He's  no  here  noo; 
he's  gaun  awa  hame,"  and  gathering  up  one  corner 
of  her  apron  to  brush  away  her  tears,  said :  "He's 
greatly  missed  in  this  hame." 

When  I  called  at  this  home  on  my  former  visit  to 
Scotland  this  good  man  was  an  invalid  and  had  lain  in 
one  of  those  "set-in  beds"  (a  bed  built  in  the  alcove 
of  the  wall)  for  seven  years.  When  I  bade  him  fare- 
well, he  said : 

"I'll  no  see  you  here  ony  mair,  but  I'll  meet  you  in 
yon  city."     And  shortly  after   my    return    home    to 


52       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

America  I  received  a  letter  from  his  son,  saying: 
"Father  has  gone  to  live  'in  that  city'  of  which  you 
sang  to  him." 

''My  bairns  have  all  left  the  old  hame,"  resumed  the 
old  lady,  "save  my  youngest  lad,  who  is  still  beside  me. 
Jeanie  is  the  only  single  lass  I  have  and  she's  awa." 
The  wife  of  one  of  her  sons  came  in  and  also  one  of  her 
daughters,  and  the  Scotch  phrases  were  passed  out 
quite  freely.  I  interrupted  them  several  times  to 
learn  the  meaning  of  some  of  them.  The  old  lady 
gave  us  a  brief  history  of  her  early  life. 

"Mother  took  me  to  live  wie  a  farmer's  wife  near 
the  old  hame  when  I  was  a  'wee  lass,'  "  she  remarked, 
"and  when  she  saw  me,  she  said,  'She's  far  too  wee  to 
rin  after  the  kye.'  'I've  na  fear  if  she  does  na  go  to 
sleep ;  she's  a  braw  and  supple,  though  she's  wee,'  " 
her  mother  repHed. 

"Will  ye  go  to  Mrs.  Smith,  and  see  if  she  has  the 
claiths  mangled?"  she  said  to  her  daughter.  I  was 
amused  at  the  answer  she  gave  her  mother  when  she 
returned : 

"She  did  na  hae  them  dune ;  she's  jist  gaen  to  gie  em 
the  roun  of  the  wrist,"  she  said. 

"Where  is  your  brother?"  inquired  the  old  lady  of 
one  of  her  grandsons  as  he  came  into  the  house.  "I 
dena  ken  noo ;  I  telt  him  to  come  ham  but  he  would 
na  come." 

"That  boy  has  a  fine  open  face,"  I  remarked. 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  "he's  a  bonnie  lad,  but  ye  dena 
ken  the  mind  of  the  other  bairn.     He's  more  quiet." 

In  speaking  of  a  family  living  nearby  whom  I  had 
previously  met,  she  said:  "Mrs.  Millen  is  na  in  the 
auld  hoose  noo.     She's  awa  in  the  hame  where  there's 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  53 

na  a  bit  of  sorrow.  The  youngest  lad  is  married  and  is 
living  in  the  auld  hoose.     Will  you  gae  to  see  him?" 

''Yes/'  I  replied,  for  I  remembered  with  pleasure 
my  visit  to  that  home.  While  we  were  waiting  an  an- 
swer to  our  knock  at  the  door  she  said,  pointing  to  the 
rose  bush  in  full  bloom,  climbing  up  the  front  of  the 
house : 

"Mrs.  Millen  is  no  here  noo.  She's  gaun  awa 
where  the  flowers  bloom  forever." 

She  had  a  way  of  weaving  threads  of  poetry  through 
her  conversation  which  I  greatly  appreciated.  One 
of  her  sons  in  speaking  of  the  death  of  his  sister,  said : 

"Sister  died  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  and. left 
three  small  children.  Mother  had  them  under  her 
care  for  awhile — good,  big-hearted  mother  that  she  is. 
Her  wrinkles  are  increasing,  and  so  is  her  love."  In 
speaking  of  the  death  of  his  child,  he  said : 

"The  wee  bairn  you  saw  in  its  mother's  arms  we 
carried  down  to  the  river  of  death  and  passed  it  over 
to  the  good  Shepherd.  He  is  caring  for  it  now." 
And  since  my  return  home  in  a  letter  I  received  from 
another  one  of  her  sons,  he  said : 

"Our  wee  lass  took  ill  about  Christmas  and  it 
proved  to  be  fatal.  We  tried  to  make  her  short  jour- 
ney through  life  a  pleasant  one.  We  would  liked  to 
have  kept  her,  but  «he  slipped  away  from  us  in  a  little 
fit." 

Our  knock  was  answered  by  a  staid  looking  Scotch 
lass  who  had  just  recently  changed  her  name  to  Mil- 
len and  taken  possession  of  the  "auld  hoose,"  and 
seemed  to  be  doing  her  best  to  brighten  the  life  of 
this  lad  whose  life,  I  remember,  was  bound  up  in  that 
of  the  mother.     One  day  while  in  conversation  with 


54       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

this  young  man  about  the  many  old  houses  in  the  vil- 
lage, he  said : 

"Yon  house  is  the  one  that  Bruce  slept  in  the  night 
before  the  battle  of  Bannockburn." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "it  must  be  very  old,  for  that  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century." 

"We  will  go  over  and  see  the  old  relic,"  I  said  to  a 
gentleman  in  company  with  me  from  Glasgow.  And 
while  doing  so  an  old  woman  came  down  the  long, 
narrow,  winding  street  and,  seeing  we  were  interested 
in  the  house,  stopped  and  said  to  us : 

"That  is  the  auld  hoose  that  Robert  Bruce  slept  in 
before  the  great  battle  of  Bannockburn,  and  yon  hoose 
back  is  where  he  kept  his  powney." 

It  was  ancient  looking  enough  to  have  stood  many 
centuries.  The  tiles  on  the  roof  were  in  a  fair  state  of 
preservation,  as  well  as  the  house.  The  windows 
were  very  old  fashioned.  While  the  old  lady  was  giv- 
ing us  some  interesting  history  connected  with  the  vil- 
lage, an  old  man  sitting  in  a  cart  on  some  produce 
with  his  wooden  leg  resting  on  the  dash  and  driving  a 
little  sorrel  pony  came  down  the  street,  shouting: 
"Tatties  and  herrin'." 

"This  old  man  and  his  team  are  in  keeping  with  the 
quaint  street,"  I  remarked. 

"Oh,"  she  said,  "he's  a  puir  lookin  body  but  he's 
got  money,  but  he's  wantin'  a  leg." 

I  smiled  at  the  queer  way  of  speaking  of  the  loss  of 
the  old  man's  leg.  "And  that,"  I  said,  "is  a  very  old 
house,  too,"  pointing  to  a  little  cottage  with  spears  of 
wheat  and  grass  growing  on  the  thatched  roof. 

"Eh,"  the  old  woman  replied,  "it's  a  ga  auld  hoose; 
there's  some  one  lived  in  it  since  I  mind." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       55 

In  passing  along  this  old  street  I  came  to  a  house 
in  the  window  of  which  were  some  apples  and  a  few 
jars  of  candies. 

"I  am  going  to  purchase  some  of  those  apples,"  I 
said  to  the  gentleman,  ''just  to  get  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  interior  of  that  old  house  and  having  a  talk 
with  the  old  lady."  Lowering  my  head,  I  stepped 
into  this  little  home  and  inquired  of  the  woman  the 
price  of  the  apples,  she  replied  in  very  broad  Scotch : 

"Eh,  ther'er  a  threepence  a  poun;  ther'er  na  gae 
braw.     Wait  till  I  gie  ye  the  etheryins." 

She  went  into  an  adjoining  room  and  brought  out 
some  that  she  said  were  ''gae  braw,"  but  which  I  con- 
sidered were  about  on  a  par  with  the  ones  in  the  win- 
dow. While  she  was  weighing  the  apples  I  engaged 
in  conversation  with  another  old  lady  who  was  sitting 
by  the  open  grate. 

"I  fancy,"  she  said,  ''that  you  are  from  England." 

"No,"  I  replied,  "I  am  from  America." 

"I  did  na  ken  you  were  from  that  far  away  land.  I 
had  some  friends  that  went  over  there  mony  years 
ago,  but  I  have  na  heerd  of  them  in  a  lang  time.  I 
dena  ken  anything  aboot  them  noo,"  she  said. 

To  what  part  of  America  did  they  go?" 

"Eh,  but  I  think  it  was  a  place  called  Cincinnati,  but 
I  fancy  they're  all  dead  noo."  The  old  woman  came 
over  to  me  with  the  apples  and  joined  in  the  conversa- 
tion. 

"I  had  a  cousin  that  left  the  auld  village  for  that 
country  when  I  was  a  lass,"  she  said. 

"Well,  it  is  quite  an  undertaking  to  cross  that  great 
body  of  water  to  reach  that  country." 

"Eh,  it  must  be,"  she  replied. 


S6  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

But  then,"  I  said,  "God  can  take  care  of  you  out  on 
old  ocean  as  well  as  on  land."  The  old  woman  sitting 
by  the  grate  looked  up  into  my  face  and  said : 

''Eh,  but  He's  a  great  God.  Neglected  by  mony, 
but  has  some  to  worship  Him." 

The  old  man  with  a  wooden  leg  came  to  the  door 
and  said  something  to  the  old  woman  that  sold  me  the 
apples,  and  I  soon  learned  that  she  was  his  wife. 

"You  see  your  lassies  have  a  lad,"  I  remarked. 

He  smiled  and  in  reply  said,  "That's  richt." 

In  passing  the  old  house  shortly  afterward,  saw  him 
loading  his  cart  with  produce.  Stepping  up  to  his 
pony  and  patting  it  on  the  neck,  I  said,  "You  have  a 
fine  little  animal." 

"Eh,"  he  replied,  "but  she's  as  wise  as  a  body  and 
staun's  as  still  as  a  brick  while  I'm  gettin  in  an  oot." 

Just  then  his  wife  came  out  with  her  large  burlap 
apron  filled  with  vegetables  and  placed  them  in  the 
cart. 

"It  is  a  fine  thing  to  have  a  good  wife,"  I  remarked. 
He  looked  at  the  old  lady  and  with  a  merry  twinkle  in 
his  eyes,  said: 

"Eh,  it  is  that,  but  it  took  gai  muckle  thought  be- 
fore I  got  her." 

"I  have  not  been  as  fortunate  as  you,  and  have  not 
yet  gotten  a  wife." 

"Eh,  bide  a  wee  and  you  may  get  one,"  he  replied, 
with  a  vein  of  humor  in  his  remark. 

He  may  have  thought  me  very  hopeful  to  even  be 
giving  it  a  thought  after  tarrying  so  long  on  the  Is- 
land of  Single -. 

"The  fleas  and  migees  are  so  bad,"  he  said,  "I  could 
na  get  my  pouny  to  staun  yesterday  when  I  was  out 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       57 

with  my  tatties  and  herrin.  A  woman  wanted  some 
tatties  and  I  said  to  her,  'come  hand  her  heed  while  I 
gei  em  to  ye."  He  said  to  the  old  lady  where  I  was 
stopping: 

'Tell  the  Yankee  to  come  and  spend  an  evening 
with  us  in  the  auld  hoose."  One  evening  in  com- 
pany with  her  and  a  friend  from  Glasgow,  I  went  to  the 
home  of  this  quaint  couple.  The  flag  stone  floor 
looked  as  clean  as  water  could  make  it.  The  two  ''set- 
in  beds"  that  occupied  considerable  space  in  the  little 
room  looked  neat  and  comfortable.  The  few  pieces 
of  furniture  were  quaint  enough  to  have  served  several 
generations.  There  was  a  barrel  cut  half  way  down 
on  one  side  and  covered  with  coarse  bagging  which 
they  were  using  for  a  chair.  It  seemed  to  have  been 
madfe  expressly  for  the  old  lady  for  she  seemed  quite 
comfortable  as  she  sat  in  it.  The  old  man  sat  close 
beside  her  with  his  wooden  leg  resting  on  a  low  stool. 
Having  read  the  book,  entitled  the  "Bonnie  Briar 
Bush,"  it  struck  me  I  was  in  the  company  of  two  char- 
acters similar  to  those  mentioned  by  the  author. 
While  playing  my  harp  in  rather  quick  time,  the  old 
man  said: 

"I  ken  I  can  dance  it." 
His  foot  was  moving  quite  briskly  and  even  his 
wooden  leg 'was  keeping  time  with  the  music.  We 
concluded  if  the  old  man  gave  us  a  demonstration  of 
his  ability  along  that  line  that  most  of  the  company 
would  have  to  "shift"  our  quarters.  A  smile  played 
over  the  face  of  his  wife  as  she  turned  to  him  and  said : 

"Ah,  Dauvit,  ye  could  na  dance  that  with  your 
wooden  leg." 

"I  ken  I  could,"  he  replied. 


58       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

It  occurred  to  me  I  had  better  change  my  time  and 
play  and  sing  something  that  would  touch  his  head 
and  heart  instead  of  his  foot.  The  music  awakened 
memories  of  his  youthful  days  and  with  a  smile  play- 
ing over  his  broad  face,  partially  covered  with  a  gray 
beard,  he  said : 

"When  I  was  a  lad  I  had  a  very  lassie  kind  of  a  face 
and  my  mistress  said  to  me  one  day,  'Dauvit  will  ye 
dress  in  lassie's  claiths  this  evening  and  gae  to  the 
dance  and  fool  the  laddies?'  'Yes,  I'll  gai,'  I  said. 
Ye  ken  the  lassies  sat  on  one  side  the  room  and  the 
lads  on  the  other.  When  I  took  my  seat  wie  the  las- 
sies a  great,  muckle  (large)  lad  came  over  to  me  and 
asked  me  if  I  would  dance  wie  him.  And  after  I  did 
so  and  took  my  seat  he  said  to  the  lads,  'Eh,  but  she's 
ga  and  strong  and  a  Billy  on  the  swing,'  "  meaning  she 
was  very  strong  and  swung  about  like  a  man.  "Eh, 
my,"  said  the  old  man,  "but  I  had  to  gae  oot  for  if  they 
had  kent  me  would  have  taken  the  claiths  ofif  me." 
Then  in  a  sad  tone  of  voice,  he  said :  "But  there's  mony 
changes  since  that  day." 

Then  he  spoke  of  their  son,  who  was  their  only  child 
who  had  died  a  few  years  previous.  He  spoke  such 
broad  Scotch  I  could  scarcely  understand  some  parts 
of  his  conversation,  but  was  greatly  interested  in  lis- 
tening to  him,  even  though  I  had  to  get  the  meaning 
of  some  of  his  expressions  from  my  friends. 

"We  had  a  bonnie  lad,"  he  said,  "but  he  went  awa 
to  another  village  to  work  and  took  a  cauld  and  came 
hame  ill.  We  watched  his  breath  gettin  shorter  till 
he  slipped  awa  frae  us  and  the  auld  hoose  has  no  been 
the  same  since." 

The  old  woman  gathered  up  one  corner  of  her 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       59 

apron  and  wiped  the  tears  away  that  stole  down  her 
wrinkled  face.  The  evening  I  spent  in  that  "auld 
hoose"  with  David  and  his  good  wife  in  that  Highland 
village  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  of  my  trip.  On 
going  back  to  the  village  the  following  summer  I  in- 
quired for  the  old  couple.     My  friend  said : 

"Dauvit's  gaen  awa  frae  the  auld  hoose,  an  he'll  no 
come  back  ony  maire." 

"When  did  he  die?"  I  inquired. 

"They  took  him  to  the  auld  kirkyard  last  Merch," 
she  said.  The  last  Sabbath  I  spent  in  the  village  I 
remxcmber  seeing  David  sitting  in  the  gallery  of  the 
old  church,  and  fancy  now  I  can  see  him  adjusting  his 
glasses,  then  take  up  his  Bible  and  turn  to  the  chapter 
given  by  the  minister  as  the  morning  lesson  and  with 
the  congregation  silently  follow  in  the  reading  of  the 
same.  In  all  the  churches  I  attended  in  my  travels 
through  the  British  Isles  I  noticed  that  most  of  the 
congregation  had  Bibles  and  when  the  Scripture  les- 
son was  announced  each  one  turned  to  the  chapter  and 
semed  to  be  greatly  interested  as  it  was  being  read. 
The  last  time  I  saw  the  old  man  was  the  afternoon  of 
that  Sabbath  day  as  he  sat  beside  the  old  house  read- 
ing his  old  worn  Bible,  the  only  chart  and  compass  by 
which  he  and  every  other  person  that  has  preceded 
him  have  safely  crossed  life's  sea  to  the  port  of  eternal 
day.  When  I  called  to  see  the  sorrow-stricken  widow 
she  said  amid  her  tears : 

"This  hame  is  no  the  same  as  when  you  were  here 
last.  Dauvit  has  gaen  awa  and  I'll  soon  be  gaen  my- 
sel." 

I  attended  a  religious  meeting  in  one  of  the  little 
homes  in  this  village  and  will  not  soon  forget  that  in- 


6o       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

teresting  and  helpful  service.  I  listened  with  pleas- 
ure to  those  plain  country  folk  singing  the  songs  of 
praise,  especially  that  beautiful  Scotch  hymn,  entitled 
"My  Ain  Country."  My  visit  to  that  old  Highland 
village  will  be  among  the  very  pleasant  remembrances 
of  my  trip  to  ''Bonnie  Scotland." 

In  this  village  I  met  the  champion  bicycle  rider  of 
Scotland.  He  showed  me  a  great  number  of  valuable 
medals  he  had  received. 


Bobby  Burns'   Cottage. 


Aberdeen,  Scotland. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       6i 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

TRIP  TO  ABERDEEN. 

0NE  can  take  a  cheap  trip  to  any  part  of  Scotland 
during  the  summer  months,  especially  so  dur- 
ing the  week  of  the  Glasgow  Fair,  which  seems 
to  be  observed  as  a  general  holiday  season.  One 
morning  I  took  a  train  from  Stirling  for  Aberdeen 
by  the  Caledonia  Road,  which  runs  through  a  beau- 
tiful section  of  Scotland.  In  passing  through  a  val- 
ley dotted  with  towns  and  villages  and  fine  old  farms, 
I  saw  many  of  the  farmers  gathering  in  their  hay  and 
were  being  assisted  by  the  sisters  of  the  household, 
who  seemed  to  be  tossing  the  hay  as  dexterously  as 
the  men.  Traveling  through  the  country  I  noticed 
very  many  women  at  work  in  the  fields.  We  passed 
through  Dunblane  and  Perth.  The  latter  place  is  in 
the  locahty  in  which  the  author  of  "The  Bonnie  Briar 
Bush"  is  said  to  have  gathered  most  of  his  material 
for  that  popular  book.  Stonehaven  is  a  fair-sized 
town  nestled  down  at  the  base  of  a  great  hill  on  the 
shore  of  the  North  Sea.  From  this  point  the  train 
runs  very  close  to  the  great  cliffs  that  stand  like  a  wall 
all  along  the  coast.  There  are  a  number  of  little  vil- 
lages along  the  sea  front  principally  occupied  by  fish- 
ermen. The  white  sails  could  be  seen  far  out  at  sea, 
and  also  steamers  of  various  kinds  going  and  coming 
from  Aberdeen  which  is  quite  a  seaport  town. 

In  the  compartment  with  me  was  a  man  and  his 
wife  and  three  children.     She  was  Scotch  and  he  was 


62  A  YANKEE  BAOHELOR  ABROAD. 

from  old  Ireland.  She  was  a  care-worn  looking  wo- 
man and  seemed  to  have  more  fear  than  love  for  her 
husband.  The  child  she  held  on  her  lap  had  its  face 
broken  up  with  a  cry  most  of  the  journey,  but  he 
seemed  to  be  obHvious  to  its  cries.  His  lunch  basket 
was  on  the  rack  above  me  and  he  finally  took  it  down 
and  dealt  out  some  lunch  to  his  wife  and  the  bairns. 
But  he  seemed  to  be  more  thirsty  than  hungry  and 
reached  down  in  one  corner  of  the  basket  and  brought 
up  a  bottle  of  whisky.  As  he  removed  the  cork,  he 
said  to  me : 

'Will  yees  have  some  spirits?" 

"No,  thank  you,"  I  replied;  "I  never  indulge." 

''Och,  sure  and  yees  are  a  tetotaller,"  he  said. 

*'Yes,  I  am,  sir,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  sure  I  am,  too,"  he  said,  "except  on  holi- 
days and  pay  Saturday  nights." 

"Well,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  to  your  advant- 
age to  be  a  tetotaller  on  those  occasions?"  I  said. 
She  gave  me  an  approving  nod. 

"Och,  well,"  he  replied,  "and  a  wee  bit  of  spirits 
hurts  no  mon." 

"The  trouble  is,"  I  said,  "there  is  usually  a  bad 
spirit  that  accompanies  spirits  of  that  kind,"  and 
adcfed,  "You  would  not  want  to  see  these  Httle  boys 
become  slaves  to  strong  drink." 

"Well,  I  think  not,"  was  his  quick  reply. 

"Then  be  careful  how  you  handle  spirits  before 
them.  The  force  of  example  is  very  great,"  I  re- 
marked. My  temperance  lecture  had  very  little 
effect  on  him,  for  every  few  minutes  he  tipped  the 
bottle  until  the  spirits  had  entirely  left  it  and  had 
possession  of  the  man,  and  we  all  knew  the  difference 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       63 

between  the  spirits  being  in  the  man  and  in  the  bot- 
tle. On  reaching  Aberdeen  the  poor  woman  not  only 
had  her  bairns  to  attend  too,  but  also  her  husband  and 
his  ''spirits." 

We  ran  into  the  city  on  the  elevated  road  and 
stopped  just  outside  the  station  while  the  conductor 
collected  the  tickets.  While  the  train  was  in  waiting, 
a  crowd  of  children  gathered  on  the  street  below  and 
shouted  to  the  passengers,  "Gei  mer  a  micht?" 

"What  are  they  asking  for?"  I  inquired  of  a  man 
near  me. 

"Oh,  they  are  begging  for  'hea  pennies,'  "  (half  pen- 
nies) he  replied.  When  they  were  thrown  to  them 
the  Scotch  bairns  shouted  and  struggled  for  the  coin 
in  a  way  that  reminded  me  of  men  whom  I  have  seen 
in  our  American  stock  exchanges  shouting  and  rush- 
ing about  like  mad  men  for  the  "dollar." 

Aberdeen  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  cluster  of  hills 
at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Dee.  It  has  a  magnificent 
harbor;  the  docks  cover  thirty-four  acres  in  which 
were  lying  some  immense  steamers.  Aberdeen  is 
known  as  the  Granite  City  and  is  properly  called  so, 
for  all  the  buildings,  both  pulDlic  and  private,  are  built 
of  light  gray  granite.  It  has  a  population  of  105,000. 
Its  business  streets  contain  *  many  very  attractive 
stores.  I  rode  on  the  top  of  a  tram  through  the  bus- 
iness and  also  the  residential  portions  of  the  city,  and 
as  I  did  so,  concluded  that  I  had  never  visited  a  finer 
city.  The  city  all  through  had  an  air  of  neatness, 
the  streets  were  in  a  condition  that  reflected  great 
credit  on  the  officials.  I  rode  out  to  the  new  bridge  of 
Don,  near  which  was  an  enclosed  field  where,  from 
the  top  of  the  tram,  I  could  see  immense  crowds  of 


64  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAE). 

people,  some  engaged  in  field  sports  and  various 
games,  and  near  the  entrance  were  a  number  of  lads 
and  lassies  hoping  about,  keeping  time  with  a  lively 
air  played  by  the  brass  band  perched  up  in  the  pavil- 
ion. It  seemed  to  be  a  general  holiday,  and  every  one 
was  bent  on  having  a  good  time.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple used  such  broad  Scotch  I  could  scarcely  under- 
stand them. 

On  coming  back  to  the  city  proper,  I  visited  a  very 
old  cathedral.  At  the  entrance  I  noticed  a  tablet  with 
this  strange  heading: 

''Mortifications  left  to  this  church  by  the  following 
persons." 

The  first  to  head  the  list  was  that  of  an  old  physi- 
cian who  died  in  1 6i6.  While  I  was  reading  down  the 
long  list  of  names,  a  very  poorly  dressed  woman 
came  near  me  and  looked  over  the  list  of  names.  The 
amounts  given  were  marked  in  such  a  way  that  I 
could  not  quite  make  them  out,  and  I  turned  to  her 
and  asked  the  meaning  of  the  marks. 

''Eh,  I  denna  ken.  I'm  a  stranger  aboot  here,"  she 
replied. 

"I  am,  too,"  I  said,  "and  think  I  am  a  bit  farther 
from  home  than  you." 

"You're  takin  a  good  look  aboot,"  she  replied,  and 
added,  "It's  an  idle  day  wi  me,  and  nothin  doin.  An' 
I'm  just  token  a  look  aboot,  too.  I  denna  ken  mony 
aboot  Aberdeen  noo.  I  lived  here  before  me  husband 
deed."  Then  she  gave  a  sigh,  and  said :  "I've  had  a 
hard  time  since  he  went  awa.  I  hav  na  put  me  teeth 
in  meat  (food),  for  three  days  an  its  no  a  braw  day 
when  you  canna  do  that."  I  soon  discovered  a  huge 
begging   thread   running  through     her    story    and 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       65 

thought  if  I  responded  to  every  tale  of  woe  that  was 
poured  in  my  ear  I  would  soon  have  to  be  holding 
out  my  hand  on  some  street  corner  begging  for  cash 
to  get  me  back  to  Yankee  land. 

Shortly  after  I  came  out  of  the  cathedral  I  en- 
countered something  more  than  a  Scotch  mist.  The 
rain  fell  in  great  sheets  and  I  took  refuge  in  a  door- 
way opposite  the  cathedral.  At  the  base  of  the 
church-yard  fence  a  man  was  lying  on  his  back  very 
much  under  the  weather,  in  more  than  one  way.  He 
finally  rolled  off  on  the  pavement  and  after  a  great 
effort  he  gained  his  footing.  He  started  across  the 
street.  On  reaching  the  center  he  lost  his  balance 
and  fell  on  the  broad  of  his  back  and  lay  in  that  posi- 
tion helpless,  but  it  was  a  blessing  in  disguise  for  he 
received  a  fine  bath  which,  from  his  appearance,  he 
was  badly  in  need.  No  one  semed  willing  to  leave 
their  place  of  shelter  to  lend  him  a  helping  hand  until 
the  storm  abated. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that  way  of  celebrating  a 
holiday?"  I  said  to  two  young  men  standing  near, 
who  were  watching  the  weather-beaten  man. 

"Eh,  but  that's  gaun  too  far  wi'  it.  Tokin  a  drink 
noo  an  then  is  a'  recht." 

"Take  my  advice  and  give  old  'John  Barley  Corn' 
a  wide  berth,  for  he  is  the  champion  wrestler."  They 
smiled  and  said : 

"We'll  na  promise  you  that." 

A  young  man  and  woman  sat  beside  me  in  the  res- 
taurant who  were  rather  communicative.  Learnino- 
that  I  was  from  America,  he  said :  "I  was  born  over 
there,  but  father  moved  back  to  Scotland  when  I  was 


^  A  YANKEE  BACH'ELOR  ABROAD. 

a  bairn.  I  should  like  very  much  to  go  over  and  see 
the  country." 

"Are  you  a  Mormon?"  the  young  woman  asked. 

"Oh,  no;  I  am  far  from  that.  I  haven't  one  wife, 
much  less  a  dozen,"  I  replied. 

"Do  you  live  near  Salt  Lake  City?"  she  further  in- 
quired. "^ 

"No,"  I  said,  "I  am  2,000  miles  from  there." 

I  soon  learned  why  they  were  so  much  interested 
in  that  sect.  A  Mormon  elder  from  America  had 
been  in  their  village  preaching  the  Gospel  according 
to  Brigham  Young,  and  several  of  the  villagers  had 
embraced  the  faith  and  I  judged  they  were  among  the 
number. 

There  were  very  many  places  of  interest  in  Aber- 
deen that  I  should  like  to  have  visited,  but  found  the 
day  had  passed  all  too  quickly,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
take  the  train  back  to  Stirling.  It  was  a  long  journey, 
but  the  time  was  passed  very  pleasantly  as  there  were 
several  very  jolly  and  entertaining  men  in  the  com- 
partment. 

A  VISIT  TO  BOBBY  BURNS'S  HOME. 

On  my  return  to  Glasgow  I  made  the  journey  to 
the  old  town  of  Ayr.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  ride 
through  a  part  of  the  country  which  was  entirely  new 
to  me.  Ayr  is  on  the  seacoast  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ayr  river,  which  divides  the  town. 

"What  is  the  population  of  this  place?"  I  inquired 
of  several  with  whom  I  conversed.  Their  figures 
varied  so  I  failed  to  get  very  much  light,  but  I  judged 
it  was  a  town  of  about  25,000  inhabitants.  Some  of 
the  buildings  were  quite  modern,  but  the  most  of  them 
bore  the  marks  of  age,     On  one  of  the  streets  there 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       (fj 

was  a  very  ancient  looking  inn  which  was  said  to  have 
been  the  favorite  resort  of  ''Bobby  Burns"  and  "Tarn 
O'Shanter."  ''Bobby"  had  his  fauhs,  as  has  every 
member  of  the  human  family.  One  of  his  was  a  fond- 
ness for  strong  drink.  However,  he  wrote  some  very 
excellent  poems  which  have  been  and  are  still  being 
read  and  appreciated  by  many  lovers  of  poetry. 

A  short  walk  from  this  old  inn  brought  me  to  a 
bridge  spanning  tlie  river,  which  I  crossed  and  walked 
down  along  the  piers  to  the  harbor.  It  seemed  to  be 
quite  a  shipping  point  for  there  were  a  number  of 
liarge  and  also  small  crafts  taking  in  and  discharging 
their  cargoes. 

"Ayr  is  a  much  larger  town  than  I  expected  to  see," 
I  said  to  an  old  maa  in  uniform  who  semed  to  have 
some  official  position  on  the  immense  stone  docks. 

"Yes,  this  is  quite  a  town,  sir.  There  is  a  deal  of 
business  done  here." 

"I  presume  you  are  an  old  resident  of  the  place?" 
I  remarked. 

"Well,  it  is  the  home  of  my  childhood,  but  I  fol- 
lowed a  sea-faring  life  for  many  years.  I  am  an  old 
sea-captain  and  just  recently  gave  it  up,"  he  replied. 

"Then  I  presume  you  have  .crossed  the  Atlantic?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  said;  "several  times.  Once  I  was 
wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Florida  and,  after  drifting 
about  at  sea  for  several  hours  on  a  spar,  was  finally 
picked  up  and  carried  to  a  point  in  North  Carolina." 

"How  were  you  impressed  with  the  States?" 

"Oh,  very  favorably.  It  is  a  wonderful  country," 
he  replied.  The  old  man  had  a  large  fund  of  inter- 
esting and  valuable  information  and  I  remained  some 
time  at  the  dock  conversing  with  him, 


68  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

From  one  of  the  business  streets  I  took  a  "wagon- 
ette" to  Alloway,  the  birthplace  of  Burns.  It  was  a 
deHghtful  ride  of  about  two  miles.  We  passed  a 
number  of  splendid  homes  on  the  suburbs  of  Ayr. 
On  one  of  the  streets  the  large  trees  on  either  side 
formed  a  complete  arch.  There  were  two  ladies  sit- 
ting in  front  of  me  and  I  soon  found  they  were  mother 
and  daughter.  By  a  question  I  asked  in  reference  to 
a  point  we  were  passing  they  learned  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  the  old  lady  at  once  began  a  conversation  with 
me  about  the  part  of  the  country  where  Burns  lived 
during  his  married  life. 

"All  this  section  of  the  country  is  very  familiar  to 
me,"  she  rem.arked.  "I  lived  a  short  distance  from 
Ayr  when  I  was  a  lass,"  which,  judging  from  her  ap- 
pearance, had  been  a  long  time  ago.  The  daughter 
also  had  bidden  farewell  to  her  girlhood  days. 

"You  should  visit  Burns'  old  farm,"  she  added, 
"where  he  married  Jean  Armour.  It  is  only  a  few 
miles  from  Alloway.  And  you  should  also  go  to 
MaucliHne  where  Poosie  Nansie's  cottage  is,  the  cel- 
ebrated meeting  place  of  the  'Jolly  Beggars,'  and  to 
Montgomerie  where  stands  the  mansion  in  which 
Highland  Mary  once  lived  as  a  dairy  maid." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "those  places  are  all  interesting  to 
me,  but  I  will  only  have  time  to  visit  Alloway." 

"Yonder  is  the  cottage  in  which  Burns  was  born," 
she  said,  pointing  to  a  long  one-storied,  thatched- 
roofed  cottage  on  the  outskirts  of  the  scattered  village. 
We  passed  it  in  going  to  the  Burns'  memorial,  which 
was  a  short  distance  beyond.  We  also  passed  the  auld 
Alloway  haunted  kirk  where  Tam  O'Shanter  had  vis- 
ions of  the  witches  dancing  in  the  kirk-yard.       His 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       69 

strange  visions  were  caused  by  tarrying  too  long  at 
the  old  inn  which  I  saw  in  Ayr.  The  memorial  is  a 
small  stone  building  in  the  centre  of  a  beautiful  little 
park,  filled  with  flowers  and  shrubbery.  The  build- 
ing contains  old  relics  that  once  belonged  to  Burns. 
Among  them  was  a  Bible  which  he  presented  to  High- 
land Mary.  There  was  also  a  statue  of  Tarn  O'Shan- 
ter  and  one  of  Souter  Johnny.  Near  the  building  was 
a  statue  of  Poosie  Nansie  sitting  in  a  chair.  She  kept 
the  inn  at  Mauchline  where  Bobby  frequently  visited. 
It  is  said  when  she  was  questioned  as  to  w^hether 
Bobby  was  at  the  inn,  she  would  hold  up  her  money 
purse  and  say:  ''He's  na  here  the  nicht."  For  her 
purse  was  always  the  heavier  for  his  visits. 

On  the  wall  of  the  building  hung  the  following 
original  letter  to  Capt.  Miller  Dalswinton,  accom- 
panied by  the  ode,  entitled  "Wha  hai  wi  Wallce  bled :" 

Dear  Sir: — The  following  ode  is  a  subject  which  I 
know  you  by  no  means  regard  with  indifference : 

"Oh,  liberty,  thou  markest  the  face  of  nature  gay, 
Gives  beauty  to  the  sun  and  pleasure  to  the  day." 

It  does  me  so  much  good  to  meet  a  man  whose  hon- 
est bosom  glows  with  the  generous  enthusiasm  of  the 
heroic  daring  of  liberty  that  I  could  not  forbear  send- 
ing you  a  composition  of  my  own  on  the  subject  which 
I  really  think  is  in  my  very  best  manner.  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  dear  sir,  your  very  humble  servant, 

Robert  Burns. 

While  I  was  copying  this  letter,  the  old  lady  and  her 
daughter  came  over.  The  former  put  on  her  spec- 
tacles and  began  reading  the  ode.  She  grew  very  en- 
thusiastic and  waxed  warmer  as  she  read  it. 


70  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Mother,  come  away;  don't  get  so  excited,"  said 
her  daug'hter.  But  she  heeded  not  her  request,  bvit 
read  in  even  a  higher  key.  When  she  had  finished, 
she  turned  to  me-  and  said : 

"That  ode  makes  every  Scotch  heart  sweel  with 
pride." 

"There  is  a  wee  bit  of  Scotch  blood  in  you,"  I  re- 
marked. With  a  flush  on  her  wrinkled  cheeks  and 
her  piercing  black  eyes  sparkling  like  diamonds,  she 
said: 

"Eh,  there's  na  a  bit  else  in  me  and  I'm  proud  of  it." 

From  here  I  went  to  the  "Bridge  of  Bonnie  Doon." 
It  is  a  little  arched  bridge  spanning  this  narrow 
stream  winding  through  a  beautiful  valley  on  either 
side  of  which  the  great  hills  roll  off  in  the  distance. 
An  old  man  stood  on  the  bridge  reciting  one  of 
Burns'  poems.  After  he  had  finishied,  he  showed  us 
the  spot  where  he  said  the  witches  pulled  out  the  tail 
of  Tam  O'Shanter's  old  gray  mare,  "Meg."  But  they 
say  "Old  Meg"  lost  her  tail  by  the  boys  pulling  it  out 
for  their  fishing  lines  while  her  master  was  tippling  in 
the  old  inn  at  Ayr.  The  old  man  conc'^nded  his  story 
by  extending  his  hand  for  some  of  the  tourists'  loose 
change.  He  was  an  old  weather-beaten  looking  char- 
acter and  had  the  appearance  of  being  ancient  enough 
to  have  lived  in  the  days  of  Burns. 

From  the  bridge  I  went  to  the  "auld  kirk."  It  is 
now  in  ruins,  although  the  walls  are  in  a  fair  state  of 
preservation  and  the  bell  in  the  tower  is  still  remain- 
ing. There  were  some  very  old  tomb  stones.  One 
of  them  dated  back  to  1691.  The  following  epitaph 
I  copied  from  one  of  them : 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       71 

"Oh  ye  whose  cheeks  the  tears  of  pity  staines, 

Draw  near  with  pious  reverence  and. attend. 
Here  lies  the  husband's  dear  remains, 

The  tender  father  and  generous  friend; 
The  pitying  heart  that  felt  for  human  woe. 

The  dauntless  heart  that  feared  no  human  pride, 
The  friend  of  man  to  vice  alone  a  foe, 

For  e'en  his  failings  leaned  to  virtue'  s  side." 

A  short  walk  brought,  me  to  the  Burns  cottage 
On  the  old  thatch  were  spears  of  wheat  and  grass 
growing  and  around  the  low  eaves  was  an  abundance 
of  moss.  On  paying  the  small  admittance  fee  I  en- 
tered the  ''gae  auld  hoose."  The  flag  stone  floor 
was  laid  with  stones  of  various  sizes,  with  an  occa- 
sional brick  filling  a  crevice.  Hanging  on  a  hook  in 
the  old  fire-place  were  some  cooking  utensils.  Be- 
side the  fire-place  was  an  oven  in  which  Bobbie's 
mother  in  the  long  ago  prepared  the  good  things  for 
him.  '  On  one  side  of  the  room  was  a  dresser  contain- 
ing some  very  ancient  chinaware.  Near  it  was  the 
"set-in  bed"  in  which  the  poet  was  born  on  the  25th 
of  January,  1759.  Beside  the  bed  stood  an  eight-day 
clock  that  told  the  time  to  the"  occupants  of  that  old 
house  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  In  one  of  the  rooms 
were  souvenirs  and  various  little  articles  for  sale. 
Another  room  which  seemed  to  be  a  more  modern 
part  of  the  cottage  was  used  as  a  restaurant  and  mu- 
seum. There  were  a  number  of  Burns'  original  let- 
ters and  other  relics  belonging  to  him.  There  were 
two  old  chairs.  One  of  them  belonged  to  Souter 
Johnny  and  the  other  to  Tam  O'Shanter.  There 
were  brass  plates  on  each  of  the  chairs  with  verses  in- 
scribed, which  were  written  by  Burns. 


72  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

The  following  verse  was  written  by  Burns  and  in- 
scribed on  the  brass  plate  of  the  chair  of  Tarn  O'Shan- 
ter: 

Nai  man  can  tether  time  or  tide, 
The  hour  approaches  maun  must  side. 
..     Will  mounted  on  his  grey  mare  Meg, 
A  better  never  lifted  leg. 
The  wind  'blew  a  t-wad  blaw  its  last, 
The  rattling  shower  rose  on  the  blast, 
And  sic  a  nicht  he  takes  the  road  in 
As  ne'er  poor  sinner  was  abroad  in. 

Burns  died  July  21,  1796,  aged  "^"j  1-2  years. 

On  my  way  back  to  Ayr  I  saw  a  great  many  women 
coming  from  the  harvest  fields.  They  were  attired 
in  very  queer  style.  Their  dresses  were  exceedingly 
short  and  they  wore  black  footless  stockings,  their 
bare  feet  being  only  a  few  shades  lighter. 

'That  is  an  odd  looking  rig  those  women  are  wear- 
ing," I  said  to  the  driver. 

''Eh,  it  is  that,"  he  repHed.  "Those  black  footless 
stockings  are  called  'huggars.'  " 

I  returned  to  Glasgow  well  pleased  with  the  day 
spent  at  Ayr  and  vicinity. 

A  comparatively  short  ride  from  Glasgow  brought 
me  to  Addrossan,  where  I  took  the  steamer  for  Bel- 
fast. We  had  only  gotten  a  short  distance  from  the 
pier  before  we  found  the  old  Irish  Sea  was  at  war  with 
the  elements  and  we  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the 
row,  being  rather  roughly  treated.  The  huge  waves 
dashed  over  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  forcing  us  to  the 
saloon  below.  The  steamer  was  very  much  crowded, 
having  on  board  a  lar^e  excursion  party  from  Edin- 
burgh.    I  remained  below  deck  until  the  fumes  of 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       73 

Scotch  whisky  (which  possibly  many  were  taking  for 
their  "stomach's  sake"),  and  the  dense  clouds  of  to- 
bacco smoke  coming  from  some  very  ancient  pipes, 
and  the  motion  of  the  craft  made  me  feel  a  "wee  bit" 
uncertain  as  to  whether  I  would  be  able  to  retain  that 
which  I  had  so  carefully  laid  in  that  morning  at  the 
hospitable  board  of  my  friend  Hood.  I  grasped  the 
rail  of  the  stairway  and  with  considerable  effort  made 
my  way  on  deck,  wishing  the  difficulty  between  the 
Irish  Sea  and  the  elements  were  settled.  On  reaching 
the  deck,  found  I  could  take  my  choice  between  a  salt 
water  bath  or  beating  a  hasty  retreat  to  the  saloon. 
I  chose  the  latter.  Upon  entering  I  found  the  Irish 
Sea  had  shaken  up  the  Scotch  excursionists  until  the 
saloon  had  the  appearance  of  having  had  a  volcanic 
eruption.  I  fought  with  this  belligerent  old  body  of 
water  for  my  rights  all  the  way  to  Belfast  Lough  and 
finally  came  off  conqueror. 


74  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IRELAND. 

IN  conversation  with  several  American  tourists 
whom  I  met  in  England,  and  others  on  the 
steamer  whom  I  met  on  my  homeward  trip,  I 
found  they  had  made  the  same  mistake  that  so  many 
have,  by  leaving  Ireland  off  their  programme.  This 
lovely  Island,  lifting  its  head  far  above  the  great  waste 
of  water  sweeping  all  about  it,  contains  some  of  the 
finest  scenery  found  in  any  country. 

Ireland  covers  32,393  square  miles,  a  little  less  than 
Maine,  South  Carolina  and  Indiana.  It  has  about 
5,000,000  inhabitants,  three-quarters  of  whom  are 
Roman  CathoHc. 

My  first  sight  of  the  Emerald  Isle  was  from  the 
Queenstown  harbor  in  the  summer  of  1894,  after  a 
voyage  of  ten  days  across  the  Atlantic.  Those  fields 
fringed  with  hedge  rows  of  various  shades  of  green, 
stretching  from  those  bold  white  sea  cliffs  out  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach,  was  a  picture  that  will  not  soon 
fade  from  my  memory.  On  coming  into  the  North 
of  Ireland  in  the  summer  of  1899  and  beholding  those 
great  hills  and  rugged  sea  cliffs  of  the  County  Done- 
gal, I  found  the  scenery  quite  as  fine  in  the  North  as 
in  the  South.  In  sailing  up  Belfast  Lough,  a  distance 
of  twelve  miles  from  its  mouth  to  the  city,  I  was  con- 
vinced that  any  lover  of  nature  would  be  charmed 
with  the  magnificent  scenery  stretching  along  on 
either  side.     On  the  County  Antrim  side  can  be  seen 


Views  of  Irish  Homes. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD       TS 

Cave  Hill,  Dives  and  Black  mountains  lifting"  their 
heads  over  i,ooo  feet  above  the  sea,  while  on  the 
County  Down  side  the  Castlereagh  Hills  keep  almost 
a  parallel  course.  After  having  traveled  from  County 
Derry  and  Donegal  in  the  North  to  Kerry  and  Cork 
in  the  South  and  feasting  my  eyes  on  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery  of  that  stretch  of  country,  then  standing 
on  the  highest  peak  of  one  of  the  mountains  in  Killar- 
tiey,  and  gazing  on  those  great  mountains  rising  up 
in  all  directions,  at  whose  base  are  magnificent  sheets 
of  water  the  grandeur  of  which  cannot  be  described,  I 
was  not  surprised  that  the  Irish  people  boast  of  the 
beauties  of  their  country.  Frequently  I  have  heard 
them  say  that  the  fields  of  Old  Ireland  were  greener 
than  those  of  Amxerica,  but  considered  it  simply  a  fan- 
cied notion,  but  since  my  visits  to  that  Green  Isle,  I 
join  with  every  Irishman  in  saying  it  is  true.  Vegeta- 
tion of  all  kinds  has  a  deeper  hue  than  one  sees  in  our 
own  great  country.  The  reason  of  this  is  the  great 
moisture  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  Irish  have  the  reputation  of  being  very  hospit- 
able people  and  I  also  found  this  to  be  true.  Upon 
entering  the  homes  of  som.e  of  those  who  had  gathered 
considerable  of  this  world's  goods,  and  of  those  less 
favored,  I  found  that  word  ''welcome"  more  than  a 
mere  sentiment.  The  kindness  shown  me  in  those 
Irish  homes  will  always  be  cherished  by  the  *Tall 
Yankee." 

The  question  is  often  asked,  ''What  kind  of  homes 
have  they  in  Ireland?  Are  most  of  them  Httle,  one- 
storied,  thatched  cabins?" 

My  answer  is,  "No."  There  are  hundreds  of  mag- 
nificent mansions,  many  of  them  surrounded  by  acres 


76       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

of  fine  grounds,  usually  enclosed  by  stone  walls  with 
the  name  of  the  home  on  the  post  of  the  lodge  gate. 
The  occupants  of  these  dwellings  are  far  removed  from 
the  pinchings  of  want.  Then  there  are  also  thousands 
of  splendid  homes,  many  of  which  are  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  professional  and  business  men,  homes  that 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  country.  In 
visiting  very  many  of  the  homes  of  the  laboring  classes 
I  found  them  neatly  and  comfortably  furnished,  and 
the  vast  majority  of  those  that  were  not  was  because 
the  head  of  the  house  dropped  his  hard  earnings  in 
the  till  of  the  "Publican"  instead  of  that  of  the  mer- 
chant. In  my  travels  I  did  see  many  little  cabins, 
especially  in  the  South  of  Ireland,  and  wondered  how 
the  occupants  managed  to  live  in  such  a  small  place. 
I  also  heard  them  speak  of  the  mud  cabin  found  in 
some  parts  of  Ireland,  where  the  pigs  and  the  chick- 
ens, and  sometimes  the  donkey,  shared  the  home  with 
the  family.  The  houses  are  either  built  of  brick  or 
stone.  In  all  my  travels  through  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land I  never  saw  a  frame  house  and  only  a  very  few  in 
England,  and  they  were  very  old.  All  the  houses 
have  open  grates ;  most  of  them  have  one  in  each  room, 
and  the  kitchen  floors  are  flag  stone. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  in  Dublin,  I  met  one  of  my  old 
friends  who  formerly  lived  in  Cork.  He  greeted  me 
in  his  usual  witty  and  humorous  manner.  Grasping 
my  hand  and  shaking  it  warmly,  then  casting  his  eyes 
down  at  my  feet,  he  said : 

"Well,  sure,  Butler,  I  knew  your  feet.  Why  the 
two  of  them  would  flag  a  kitchen." 

Soft  coal  is  the  only  kind  used  in  the  British  Isles, 
_.and  the  housekeepers,  I  judge,  find  it  more  difficult  to 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       ^^ 

keep  their  cooking  utensils  as  tidy  as  do  our  Ameri- 
can women. 

Another  question  so  often  asked  is,  ''Do  they  use 
the  Celtic  language?" 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  it  is  spoken  by  com- 
paratively few  people  and  the  most  of  them,  I  under- 
stood, being  aged  persons.  In  all  of  my  journeys 
through  that  country  I  did  not  hear  it  spoken  but 
once.  An  old  man  sitting  beside  me  in  the  train  go- 
ing from  Belfast  to  Dublin  used  it  in  conversing  with 
a  Priest  at  one  of  the  stations.  None  of  the  passen- 
gers in  the  compartment  understood  it,  and  all  save 
one  were  full-fledged  Irishmen.  As  the  train  moved 
from  the  station,  the  old  man  said : 

"It  is  such  a  treat  to  find  any  one  who  can  speak 
the  Celtic  language,  for  I  seldom  come  across  a  person 
that  understands  it." 

"Do  you  think  it  will  ever  be  generally  spoken 
again?"  a  gentleman  asked  him. 

"Well,  I  can't  say,  sir.  They  are  trying  to  revive 
it;  but  I  hardly  think  it  will  ever  be  used  to  any  ex- 
tent," was  his  reply. 

The  Dublinites  have  the  reputation  of  speaking  the 
finest  Eng-lish  spoken  in  the  world.  They  have  a  soft 
musical  accent  and  fit  their  sentences  very  neatly. 
Even  those  whose  education  was  quite  limited,  used 
choice  language.  The  dialect  in  the  North  difTers  a 
little  from  that  of  the  South.  The  people  of  the 
North  have  a  "wee  bit"  of  the  Scotch  accent.,  and  use 
a  great  many  of  the  Scotch  expression.  In  listening 
to  the  conversation  of  a  man  in  a  store  in  one  of  the 
northern  towns  I  concluded  he  was  a  Scotchman  and 
was  greatly  surprised  when  the  proprietor  informed 


78       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

me  he  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  said  quite  a  num- 
ber of  the  people  of  that  town  used  many  Scotch 
phrases.  In  the  North  of  Ireland  there  are  very  many 
large  manufacturing  places  of  various  kinds,  while  in 
the  South  there  are  comparatively  few.  In  visiting- 
some  of  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  South,  I  wondered 
how  the  bulk  of  the  people  obtained  a  livelihood,  and 
especially  so  in  Cork,  for  the  smoke  was  finding  its 
way  from  very  few  industries  in  that  beautiful  city, 
with  a  population  of  nearly  100,000.  From  the  ap- 
pearances of  some  I  met  on  the  streets,  they  earned  a 
very  scant  living.  The  merchants,  I  fancied,  de- 
pended largely  on  the  country  folk.  All  through  the 
County  Cork  there  are  very  many  fine  farms,  and  the 
majority  of  the  tillers  of  the  soil  seemed  fairly  pros- 
perous. 

While  in  Cork  on  a  market  day  I  was  very  much 
amused  in  seeing  some  of  the  odd  looking  teams  com- 
ing into  town.  It  was  a  common  sight  to  see  an  old 
man  or  a  woman  dressed  in  quaint  style  sitting  in  a 
cart,  driving  a  donkey  with  rope  lines.  Some  of  the 
old  characters  were  puffing  away  on  very  ancient  look- 
ing pipes.  The  old  women  in  the  market  place  wore 
short  dresses  and  old  fashioned  black  bonnets,  under 
which  was  a  white  cap  bordered  with  three  heavy  frills 
that  encircled  their  typical  Irish  faces.  There  was  a 
''deal"  of  wit  under  those  old  bonnets,  which  they 
passed  out  quite  freely.  Cork  has  several  fine  build- 
ings and  some  of  its  ''shops"  are  fitted  up  very  at- 
tractively. On  my  former  visit  I  stopped  at  one  of 
these  "shops"  to  make  a  purchase.  As  the  clerk 
passed  me  the  article,  I  said :  "I  don't  want  that,  sir;  it 
is  soiled." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       79 

"I  see  you  are  a  Yankee,"  he  remarked,  as  he  ex- 
changed it. 

"I  am,"  I  rephed. 

"Well,  I  thought  you  were  an  Irishman  until  I  de- 
tected your  slight  American  accent,"  he  said. 

"The  same  compliment  has  been  passed  on  me  be- 
fore," I  replied.  "Some  of  my  friends  remarked  to 
me  before  leaving  America,  Tf  you  step  ashore  in  Ire- 
land with  a  clay  pipe  in  your  mouth  they  will  ask 
you  "how  long  it  has  been  since  you  left  the  Old 
Sod."  '  " 

I  did  not  even  have  to  resort  to  the  pipe,  for  when 
in  Londenderry  in  1894  a  lady  at  the  hotel  where  T  was 
stopping  said  to  me,  when  she  learned  I  was  from 
Arnerica : 

"How  long  has  it  been  since  you  left  Ireland?" 

"I  have  never  left  yet,"  I  replied. 

"Why  the  gentleman  told  me  your  home  was  in 
America." 

"So  it  is,  but  I  have  never  left  Ireland  for  the  rea- 
son I  never  was  here  before." 

She  gave  me  a  look  of  surprise  and  said : 

"Oh,  I  thought  you  were  a  native  of  Ireland." 

Having  also  been  taken  for  an  Englishman,  I 
scarcely  know  of  what  nationality  I  am.  My  face 
must  be  a  strange  combination,  for  some  have  taken 
me  for  a  clergyman  and  others  for  just  the  opposite. 
One  day  while  walking  along  a  turnpike  in  the  upper 
part  of  New  Jersey,  I  said  to  a  gentleman  in  com- 
pany with  me,  who  was  complaining  of  being  weary : 

"There  is  a  toll  gate  just  beyond.  We  will  call  in 
and  r^st"     Walking  up  to  the  door  with  a  great  deal 


8o       A  YANKEE  BACH'ELOR  ABROAD. 

of  assurance  I  said  to  the  matter-of-fact  old  woman 
that  kept  it : 

"Aunty,  can  we  come  in  and  rest?" 

"No,  you  can't,"  she  replied  very  decidedly.  "I'm 
here  alone  and  I'm  in  and  out,  and  can't  have  you  in 
here." 

"We  know  the  commandments  very  well,  especially 
that  one.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.'  "  She  stepped  out 
of  the  door  and,  adjusting  her  glasses,  looked  at  us 
sharply  and  said: 

"Yes,  but  there's  another  side  to  it ;  did  you  know 
it?  There  is  lead  us  not  into  temptation."  We 
laughed  heartily  at  the  old  lady's  remark. 

"Aunty,  you  surely  don't  think  we  would  break  that 
commandment,  do  you?"  I  asked. 

Leaning  her  elbow  on  the  toll  gate,  she  said :  "I'm 
a  pretty  plain  spoken  old  woman.  I  think  you 
would." 

Her  remark  brought  forth  another  roar  of  laughter. 
We  left  the  toll  gate  not  feeling  very  highly  compli- 
mented. My  friend  was  a  clergyman,  and  wore  a 
white  clerical  tie,  but  the  old  lady  did  not  seem  to 
reckon  very  much  on  his  garb.  This  amusing  cir- 
cumstance I  related  to  a  lady  who  was  connected  with 
the  same  church  of  which  the  toll  keeper  was  a  mem- 
ber, and  when  she  informed  her  who  her  supposed 
thief  was  she  laughed  heartily  and  said : 

"Tell  him  the  Lord,  was  numbered  among  thieves 
and  he's  no  better  than  He  was."  And  added,  "There 
was  a  man  stopped  in  to  rest  one  day  and  quoted 
Scripture  all  the  while  he  was  here,  and  when  he  left 
Jie  stole  my  cash  box,  and  just  as  soon  as  that  tall  man 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       8i 

with  his  friend  began  to  pass  out  Scripture  I  fully 
made  up  my  mind  he  couldn't  come  in." 

A  short  time  after,  a  man  said  to  me  as  I  was  about 
leaving  a  restaurant :  "Why,  I  thought  that  was  you 
sitting  there  when  I  first  came  in." 

''You  have  the  advantage  of  me,"  I  replied. 

"Oh,"  he  said,  "I  have  met  you  several  times 
around  at  the  hotel.  You  are  the  bartender  there, 
are  you  not?" 

"Well,  no,  sir,"  I  replied;  "that  is  not  my  occupa- 
tion." 

I  was  helping  pull  in  on  the  "Gospel  net"  at  a 
church  nearby,  even  though  my  face  did  indicate  I 
was  engaged  in  doing  something  just  the  opposite. 

At  another  time  I  was  greatly  amused  as  I  listened 
at  two  boys  who  were  passing  their  opinion  on  me 
while  going  along  one  of  the  streets  in  Asbury  Park, 
N.  J.  They  finally  decided  I  was  a  pugilist  and 
shouted,  "Hello,  there,  John  Sullivan."  However, 
none  of  these  who  have  passed  their  various  opinions 
on  me  have  given  proof  of  being  very  apt  in  judging 
of  one's  nationality  or  calling  in  life. 

Returning  to  Cork,  it  has  ver}^  many  beautiful  resi- 
dences. One  part  in  particular  I  considered  very 
pretty,  where  the  houses  were  terraced  on  the  side  of 
a  great  hill.  There  are  also  several  large  churches, 
most  of  them  being;  Roman  Catholic.  On  seeing  the 
great  number  of  people  going  into  these  different 
churches  and  the  great  devotion  of  the  large  con- 
course of  people  assembled  in  the  one  I  visited,  I 
thought  the  Corkonians  should  be  a  model  people. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  have  a  large 


82       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

and  finely  equipped  building  and  a  fairly  strong  mem- 
bership. 

On  St.  Patrick  Street  is  a  statue  of  Father  Mathew, 
who  founded  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  and  who 
began  his  career  in  Cork  as  the  great  apostle  of  tem- 
perance. If  all  the  people  I  saw  patronizing  the  pub- 
lic house  in  Cork  would  adopt  the  principles  laid  down 
by  him,  there  would  be  far  less  of  poverty  and  distress 
in  that  city.  William  Penn,  the  founder  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  converted  to  Quakerism  in  Cork  by  listen- 
ing to  a  very  eloquent  sermon  preached  by  Thomas 
Loe. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  83 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BLARNEY  CASTLE. 

F  SHORT  ride  on  the  electric  tram  brings  one 
out  to  the  Blarney  Castle.  It  was  built  by 
Comack  McCarthey  in  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  It  has  a  massive  tower  120  feet  high. 
I  climbed  the  stone  stairway  leading  to  the  tower 
round  the  top  of  which  is  a  battlement  about  five  feet 
high. 

'Where  is  the  fantous  Blarney  stone?"  I  inquired 
of  a  young  man  standing  near  me. 

"Here  it  is,"  he  said,  as  he  leaned  over  the  wall  and 
pointed  to  the  stone  clasped  by  two  iron  bars  on  a  pro- 
jecting buttress  a  few  feet  below  the  level  of  the  wall. 
Seeing  the  difficult  position  it  was  in  for  kissing,  I  said 
to  him : 
^  "How  will  I  put  my  lips  on  that  stone?" 

"Och,  sure,"  he  replied,  "I'M  have  to  take  yees  by 
the  heels  and  hang  yees  over  the  wall." 

"Not  a  foot  of  my  tall  form  goes  over  there,"  I  said. 
I  had  no  thought  of  taking  the  risk  of  dropping  down 
120  feet  and  being  so  "bruised  and  mangled  by  the 
fall"  as  to  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  repair.  An  En- 
glishman gave  me  an  acount  of  his  trip  to  Blarney 
Castle  and  of  his  experience  of  kissing  the  stone.  He 
said  it  was  a  very  exciting  one.  "As  I  hung  over  the 
wall,"  he  remarked,  "I  shouted  to  the  men  that  held 
me,  'Boys,  don't  trust  me  boots,  but  hold  fast  to  mv 
feet." 


84       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"The  Blarney  stone,"  says  'Blake's  Picturesque 
Tourist  of  Ireland/  ''had  long  been  a  by-word 
amongst  the  Irish.  It  is  difficult  to  conjecture  why, 
unless  the  glib  tongues  of  the  natives  of  this  locality 
were  supposed  to  be  not  the  ordinary  gift  of  nature. 
A  curious  tradition  attributes  to  the  stone  the  power 
of  endowing  whoever  kisses  it  with  the  sweet  persuas- 
ive eloquence  so  perceptible  in  the  language  of  the 
Cork  people,  and  which  is  usually  termed  'Blarney/ 
There  is  an  odd  story  about  Blarney  Lake  which  is  a 
short  distance  from  the  castle.  It  is  said  that  the  Earl 
of  Clancarty,  who  forfeited  the  property  at  the  revolu- 
tion, sank  all  his  family  plate  in  a  certain  part  of  this 
lake ;  that  three  of  the  McCarthy's  inherit  the  secret  of 
the  place  where  the  treasure  is  sunk  and  any  one  of 
them  dying  communicates  it  to  another  of  the  family, 
and  thus  perpetuates  the  secret  which  is  never  to  be 
made  public  until  a  McCarthy  is  again  Lord  of  Blar- 
ney." 

There  is  a  beautiful  little  grove  that  surrounds  the 
old  castle  in  which  a  number  of  people  were  having  a 
good  social  time,  picnicking. 

The  ride  from  Cork  to  Dublin  is  a  very  delightful 
one.  I  broke  my  journey  and  ran  over  to  the  ancient 
city  of  Limerick.  It  is  situated  on  the  Shannon,  "the 
noblest  of  the  Irish  rivers."  In  walking  about  the 
old  city,  which  has  a  population  of  about  40,000, 1  was 
interested  in  its  fine  residences  and  its  quaint  business 
streets.  The  merchants  seemed  to  be  doing  business 
very  leisurely,  evidently  avoiding  the  great  rush  that 
sweep  so  many  men  to  a  premature  grave.  In  my 
wanderings  through  this  old  city  I  formed  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Rev.  J.  Armstrong,  and  spent  a  very 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       85 

pleasant  hour  with  him  and  his  excellent  wife  in  the 
old  manse.  He  was  one  of  those  broad-minded  men 
and  w^as  very  much  interested  in  the  progress  of  the 
church  of  God,  irrespective  of  creed.  It  was  a  source 
of  regret  to  me  to  learn,  on  returning  to  Ireland  in 
1899,  that  this  fine  Christian  man  had  quit  the  shores 
of  time.  But  Ireland  is  all  the  better  for  the  godly 
hfe  and  bright  Christian  example  of  this  man. 

My  trip  to  Tipperary  in  1894  is  still  fresh 
in  my  memory.  This  town  is  the  county  seat  of  the 
large  county  of  Tipperary.  If  the  town  and  county 
can  boast  of  nothing  else,  it  can  of  its  extraordinarily 
large  men,  many  of  whom  are  fine  specimens.  I  re- 
mained over  night  at  the  home  of  a  gentleman  who 
was  the  father  of  a  friend  of  mine  in  Londonderry. 
He  was  the  only  Methodist  in  the  town,  and  all  his 
employees  were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  He  was  a  man  who  was  respected  by  all  the 
community,  irrespective  of  creed.  The  people  of 
Tipperary  were  very  kind  and  hospitable,  and  I  re- 
member my  visit  there  with  pleasure. 


86  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


-     CHAPTER  X. 

DUBLIN. 

BUBLIN  is  a  beautiful  old  city  with  a  population 
of  about  400,000.  It  is  divided  by  the  river 
Liffey.  It  is  rather  a  narrow  stream  walled 
up  on  either  side,  the  entire  length  of  the  city  proper. 
Along  many  of  its  quays  and  the  canals  running  in 
from  them  can  be  seen  vessels  of  various  kinds  taking 
in  or  discharging  their  cargoes.  There  are  several 
lines  of  steamers  plying  between  Dublin  and  points 
in  Ireland,  Scotland  and  England. 

One  day,  while  at  the  north  wall,  I  saw  a  number  of 
men  from  one  of  the  country  districts  embarking  for 
England  to  engage  in  harvesting.  Many  of  tkem 
were  dressed  in  queer  style,  and  had  their  belongings 
tied  up  in  red  handkerchiefs  suspended  from  rude- 
looking  sticks  and  thrown  over  their  shoulders.  One 
man  in  particular  amused  me  very  much.  He  wore  a 
little  flat-topped  hat  and  a  coat  that  looked  as  though 
it  had  been  worn  by  his  ancestors,,  a  very  brief  pair  of 
trousers,  and  yarn  stockings  that  disappeared  under 
the  scant  trousers,  and  boots  with  no  scarcity  of 
leather.  He  carried  his  extra  clothing  in  an  old  car- 
pet bag  having  the  appearance  of  being  the  first  that 
was  made. 

The  Liffey  is  spanned  by  a  number  of  bridges. 
The  O'Connel  bridge  is  the  principal  one.  It  con- 
nects  Westmorland  with  Sackvill  street.  The  latter 
is  an  unusually  wide  street  on  which  stands  Nelson's 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       87 

monument.  I  climbed  the  spiral  stairway  to  the  top 
of  this  monument  which  is  120  feet  high  and  had  an 
extended  view.  The  Dublinites  have  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  they  desire  to  keep  the  memory  of  their 
illustrious  dead  fresh  and  green.  On  many  of  the 
streets  are  monuments  in  honor  of  some  eminent 
divine,  statesman,  poet  or  hero.  The  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington was  born  in  DubHn  and  also  Tom  Moore,  Ire- 
land's great  poet.  Many  of  his  poem's  I  have  read 
with  interest.  I  remember  when  a  small  boy  what  a 
deep  impression  was  made  on  me  in  reading  one  of 
his  beautiful  hymns,  entitled  ^'There's  nothing  true 
but  heaven."  The  last  verse  has  always  lingered  in 
my  memory.     It  reads  as  follows : 

"Poor  wanderers  of  a  stormy  day, 

From  wave  to  wave  are  driven; 
And  fancy's  flash  and  reason's  ray, 
Serve  but  to  lig'ht  our  troubled  way; 

There's  nothing  calm  but  heaven." 

Then  in  later  years  another  one  of  his  sacred  songs 
became  a  great  favorite :  _ 

"Come,  ye  disconsolate,  where'er  you  languish, 
Come  at  the  shrine  of  God,  fervently  kneel. 

Here  bring  your  wounded  hearts;  here  tell  your  anguish, 
Earth  has  no  sorrow  that  heaven  cannot  heal." 

Daniel  O'Connel,  the  noted  lawyer  and  statesman, 
lived  in  this  city.  His  family  vault  is  at  the  Glasne- 
vine  cemetery,  a  very  large  Catholic  burial  plot  on  the 
suburbs  of  the  city.  On  paying  a  six  pence  I  went 
down  the  steps  to  the  vault  where  could  be  seen  the 
cofifins  containing  the  dust  of  this  great  man  and  of 


88       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

several  members  of  his  family.  While  visiting  this 
cemetery  one  morning  there  were  a  great  many  fun- 
erals came  in.  There  were  three  in  the  chapel  at  one 
time  and  a  number  of  others  awaiting  to  take  their 
places.  It  is  quite  a  sight  to  see  the  friends  coming 
to  the  cemetery  in  Irish  jaunting  cars  and  vehicles  of 
various  kinds.  They  are  supposed  to  have  their  dead 
at  the  chapel  by  12  M.  One  of  the  grave-diggers  in- 
formed me  they  had  forty  funerals  that  morning. 
Parnell  is  buried  here  and  a  large  mound  marks  his 
resting  place,  on  which  were  many  small  glass  cases 
containing  immortelles  and  various  designs  made  of 
artificial  flowers  presented  by  friends  and  the  many 
Land  League  societies  of  Ireland.  On  my  way  into 
the  city  I  overtook  the  priest  who  officiated  at  the  fun- 
erals at  the  chapel.  "You  have  had  a  busy  morning," 
I  said  to  him. 

''Oh,  yes,"  he  replied;  ''we  had  about  twenty  chil- 
dren and  the  same  number  of  adults." 

"Is  that  an  unusual  number  for  one  day?"  I  in- 
quired. 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "there  is  an  epidemic  of  typhoid 
fever  in  the  city  and  it  is  proving  fatal  in  many  cases." 

During  the  winter  I  was  informed  the  number  ran 
up  to  sixty  funerals  a  day. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  89 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  CUSTOM  HOUSE  AND  FOUR  COURTS. 

DUBLIN  contains  some  very  large  and  massive 
buildings,  some  of  them  bearing  the  marks  of 
age.  The  custom  house  is  the  finest  building 
in  the  city.  The  principal  front  faces  the  Liffey. 
The  dome  is  120  feet  high,  on  the  top  of  which  is  a 
statue  representing  "Hope."  I  had  a  friend  em- 
ployed there  and  called  occasionally  to  see  him,  but 
had  to  go  through  a  great  deal  of  "red  tape"  before  I 
could  "put  the  two  eyes  of  me  on  him." 

"Who  do  you  wish  to  see?"  the  attendant  at  the 
gate  inquired. 

"Mr.  M— ,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  just  go  to  the  second  floor  and  they  will  send 
for  him." 

On  reaching  there  I  was  directed  into  a  small  room 
and  furnished  with  a  blank  to  fill  out  with  my  name 
and  address  and  occupation.  This  being  done,  an- 
other attendant  took  it  to  headquarters,  and  after  my 
clearance  papers  were  passed,  my  friend  put  in  his  ap- 
pearance. 

The  Fourt  Courts  on  the  King's  Inn  Quay,  which 
is  some  distance  up  the  LifTey,  is  a  splendid  building 
in  which  are  the  courts  of  the  Queen's  Bench,  Ex- 
chequer and  Common  Pleas.  The  Barristers  are  at- 
tired in  black  robes  and  wear  a  gray  curled  wig. 
Some  of  their  robes  looked  ancient  enough  to  have 
been  worn  by  the  Barristers  of  long  ago.     I  paid  sev- 


go  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

eral  visits  to  the  courts  (be  it  known  only  as  a  specta- 
tor). I  saw  a  number  of  these  masters  of  law  hurry- 
ing to  and  fro  with  their  hands  filled  with  documents, 
apparently  doing  their  best  for  their  client.  They  ad- 
dress the  judge  as  "Your  Worship."  I  enjoyed  lis- 
tening to  them  argue  their  cases.  They  usually  spun 
threads  of  pure  wit  through  their  remarks.  Around 
the  magistrate's  court  there  was  usually  a  large 
crowd  of  rough  looking  men  and  women  gathered, 
who  semed  to  be  interested  in  their  friends  who  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  justice.  Several  times  I  at- 
tended the  magistrate's  court  in  Ireland  and  while 
there  was  a  very  sad  side  to  them,  there  was  also  a 
very  amusing  one.  One  day  I  remained  while  they 
disposed  of  quite  a  number  of  cases.  The  first  was 
that  of  a  good  natured  looking  man,  whom  a  fellow  on 
the  witness  stand  had  charged  with  assault  and  bat- 
tery. Judging  by  the  quantity  of  material  with  which 
his  eye  was  bandaged,  the  man  did  it  properly.  The 
lawyer,  who  was  an  elderly  man  and  quite  witty,  said : 

"Did  you  not  follow  the  defendant  from  the  factory 
and  bring  on  the  trouble?" 

"Well,  sure  I  come  out  after  he  did,"  was  his  reply. 

"Well,  how  many  public  houses  did  you  go  into 
before  you  found  him?" 

"I  don't  remember,  sir." 

"You  don't  remember?  Why,  you  seem  to  have  a 
very  short  memory,"  said  the  lawyer,  and  added : 

"Well,  what  did  the  man  do  when  you  found  him?" 

"Och,  sure,  he  made  a  pass  at  me,"  said  the  man  ad- 
justing the  bandage. 

"And  a  very  successful  pass  it  was,  by  the  look  of 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  91 

your  eye,"  said  the  lawyer,  which  remark  caused  a  rip- 
ple of  laughter  to  pass  over  the  court. 

"What  did  you  do  when  the  man  struck  you?" 
asked  another  lawyer. 

"I  don't  mind,  sir;  I  was  confused,"  was  his  reply. 

"Well,  what  confused  you?" 

"The  five  pints  of  porter  he  drank  before  he  found 
the  defendant,"  shouted  the  old  lawyer.  Even  the 
old  staid  Judge  had  to  smile  at  this  remark. 

"Your  Worship,"  said  the  lawyer  for  the  plaintiff, 
"these  men  are  fellow-workmen  and  have  never  had 
any  trouble  before,  and  my  chent  does  not  wish  .to 
push  the  case." 

"He  is  the  aggressive  party,"  said  the  old  Judge, 
and,'  turning  to  the  fellow  with  the  discolored  eye, 
said:  "My  business  is  to  punish  the  guilty,"  and  sen- 
tenced him  to  a  short  term  in  the  old  prison.  The 
next  to  appear  in  the  prisoner's  dock  was  a  great,  staU 
wart  woman,  with  a  babe  in  her  arms.  She  was  also 
charged  with  using  her  huge  fists  too  freely  on  an  old 
woman.  When  they  called  the  name  of  this  old 
weather-beaten  character,  she  slowly  made  her  way 
to  the  witness  stand  and  seemed  so  feeble  that  one  of 
the  officers  had  to  assist  her.  The  prisoner  looked 
down  on  her  with  scorn,  and  said : 

"Och,  don't  be  helpin'  her;  she  can  help  herself. 
She's  only  puttin'  it  on." 

"Kiss  the  book,"  said  the  clerk  of  the  court.  She 
clasped  her  hands  and  threw  her  eyes  up  toward  the 
ceiling  and  looked  as  though  she  was  about  to  ex- 
pire. She  was  one  of  those  old  characters  that  had  a 
face  for  every  day  in  the  week.     She  finally  gathered 


92       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Up  the  little  soiled  Bible  and  pressed  it  to  her  withered 
lips  and  then  began  to  make  her  statement. 

"I  keeps  a  lodgin'  house,  and  that  woman  come  to 
me  house  for  a  .bed  and  whin  I  gave  her  one  and 
wanted  me  pay,  sure,  she  wouldn't  give  it  to  me,  but 
fell  to  and  give  me  a  beaten,"  and  then  clasping  her, 
hands,  said  in  a  faint  tone  of  voice,  ''And,  sure  but  for 
me  daughter  she  would  have  bate  me  to  death." 
Then  she  slowly  sat  down. 

"That  old  rounder  has  another  case  in  court,"  said 
a  rough  looking  man  near  me.  ''She's  always  bring- 
in'  some  one  here." 

"Your  Worship,  can  I  spake?"  said  the  prisoner. 

"You  can,"  the  Judge  repHed. 

"I  wint  to  that  woman's  house  for  me  lodgins  and 
paid  me  six  pence  for  me  bed  and  laid  meself  and 
child  down  on  it,  and  if  she  dident  come  and  drag  the 
tick  from  under  me  and  give  it  to  some  other  woman, 
and  I  never  laid  the  hands  of  me  on  her." 

The  old  woman  forgot  how  feble  she  had  pretended 
to  be  and  sprang  to  her  feet  and,  rolling  up  her  sleeve, 
shouted : 

"The  Lord  forgive  me,  but  look  at  the  arm  of  me 
where  she  bate  me." 

"Your  worship,"  said  the  officer,  "when  I  reached 
the  old  woman,  I  found  the  prisoner  beating  her." 

When  the  old  Judge  sentenced  the  huge  prisoner, 
she  shrieked  and  shouted:  "Yees  are  sendin'  an  in- 
nocent woman  to  jail." 

"Did  you  see  the  prisoner  break  in  the  door?"  said 
a  lawyer  to  a  woman  who  was  a  witness  against  a  man 
who  was  charged  with  malicious  mischief. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       93 

"I  saw  him  with  the  two  eyes  of  me  walk  over  to  the 
door  and  break  it  in." 

''Do  you  think,  after  all  th-e  porter  you  women  had 
been  drinking,  you  could  see  clearly?"  remarked  the 
laAvyer.     She  looked  at  him  indignantly,  and  said : 

"I  don't  go  among  me  neighbors,  sir,  and  I  don't 
drink.  We've  been  dacent  people  for  seven  genera- 
tions." Every  one  smiled  at  her  remark,  for  she 
looked  as  though  she  was  fresh  from  the  public  house. 

One  of  the  Judges  that  presided  at  one  of  the  courts 
was  a  comparatively  young  man  and  evidently  saw 
the  funny  side  of  life.  I  tried  hard  to  catch  all  of  his 
witty  sayings  that  amused  the  court,  but  he  had  a  low 
tone  of  voice  and  found  it  difficult  to  hear  him. 

"When  did  you  say  you  arrested  those  women?"  he 
asked  of  an  officer  who  had  just  testified  against  two 
of  the  worst  looking  women  one  could  find. 

''At  half-past  nine  o'clock,"  the  officer  repHed. 

"I  should  think  so,"  he  said,  with  a  smile  playing 
over  his  face.  I  would  like  to  know  what  man  would 
be  found  in  daylight  in  the  company  of  such  looking 
women  as  they." 

One  of  them  had  an  old  piece  of  soiled  rag  with 
which  she  was  v/iping  out  her  blackened  and  swollen 
eye.  The  other  woman's  face  was  fearfully  disfigured 
with  old  scars  and  fresh  cuts  and  scratches.  They 
had  evidently  been  in  collision  with  several  crafts 
along  the  wild,  rocky  coast  of  intemperance.  He  fin- 
ally turned  to  them  and  said : 

"Leave  the  dock  and  never  let  me  see  you  here 
again." 

"Your  worship,"  said  an  officer,"!  found  this  man 
drunk  and  not  able  to  give  any  account  of  himself." 


94  A  YANKEE  BAiCHELOR  ABROAD. 

The  prisoner  was  a  hard  looking  old  man  and  as  he 
stood  in  the  dock,  looked  about  in  the  court-room 
and  winked  at  the  people. 

"Silence  in  the- court,"  shouted  one  of  the  officials, 
as  he  heard  a  suppressed  laugh  coming  from  a  num- 
ber of  persons,  and  I  among  them. 

''Has  the  defendant  anything  to  say?"  asked  the 
Judge. 

"Your  worship,  I  have,"  said  the  old  man  as  he 
turned  to  us  and  again  winked.  "I  was  down  on  the 
strand  gatherin'  cockels  and  I  told  the  officer  I  was 
goin'  to  Balgrigin,  and  sure  he  took  me  up." 

"What  is  your  occupation?"  asked  the  Judge.  He 
put  his  hand  in  his  coat  pocket  and  drew  out  a  tin  fife 
and  held  it  up  and  said : 

"That's  me  caracter,  sir." 

The  remark  struck  the  Judge  on  the  funny  side  and 
his  face  was  broken  up  with  a  huge  smile.  A  young 
man  stood  in  the  dock  bearing  the  same  name  as  my- 
self. He  was  charged  with  bringing  his  fist  down  on 
his  father's  nose  in  a  way  that  took  the  bark  ofT  of  one 
side.  His  father  was  called  to  the  stand  and,  after 
kissing  the  book,  the  lawyer  asked  him  if  he  knew  the 
boy.     "I  do,  sir;  he's  me  son,"  he  replied. 

"What  kind  of  a  boy  is  he?" 

"Well,  he's  very  unruly  and  he  doesn't  work.  He 
came  into  the  house  for  the  tea  and  the  mother  said  he 
couldn't  have  it  until  the  rest  of  the  children  had 
their's,  and  he  said  he  would.  He  grasped  the  knife 
and  the  bread,  and  his  mother  and  I  remonstrated 
with  him,  and  he  threw  the  knife  and  the  loaf  of  bread 
at  his  mother  and  struck  me  with  his  fist." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       95 

"And  that  is  how  you  got  your  nose  injured?"  asked 
the  lawyer. 

"It  is,  sir,"  he  replied.  The  boy's  mother  was  then 
called  to  the  stand. 

"Are  you  acquainted  with  this  lad,  inquired  the 
lawyer. 

"I  am,  sir;  he's  me  son." 

"What  kind  of  a  boy  is  he?" 

In  a  very  decided  way,  she  said :  "Sure,  sir,  he's  a 
quiet  lad,  and  when  he  works  gives  us  all  his  money.'' 

"Well,  how  did  he  come  to  get  into  trouble  at 
home?" 

"Well,  he  came  in  for  his  tea  and  I  told  him  to  wait 
till  the  other  children  had  their's,  and  he  said  he'd 
have  it  at  once.  Then  his  father  said  he  should  have 
none  at  all,  and  sure  in  the  melee  he  struck  his  father." 

Then  they  produced  the  huge  bread  knife  and  the 
lawyer  said :  "Did  he  throw  this  knife  at  you?" 

She  said  very  decidedly  "He  did  not;  he  held  it  in 
his  haund." 

"Well,  did  he  throw  the  loai  of  bread  at  you?"- 

"He  did  not,  for  we  hadn't  the  full  of  a  in  the 
house." 

"Your  husband  just  swore  that  he  threw  the  knife 
and  bread.     What,  then,  did  he  throw?" 

She  said  in  a  way  that  made  every  one  laugh :  "He 
threw  the  half  of  a  loaf  at  me  and  struck  me  in  the 
back  of  the  neck  with  it.  Sure,  he's  a  poor  stuterin', 
stammerin'  lad  or  he  could  speak  for  himself." 

Her  mother  heart  would  not  let  her  testify  against 
the  boy  and  he  was  acquitted. 


96  A  YANKEE  BAtCHEL'OR  ABROAD. 

I  said  to  my  friend :  "You  see  that  all  who  bear  my 
name  are  not  law-abiding." 

On  coming  out  of  the  court-room  I  saw  a  motley 
crowd  gathered  about  the  window  cells,  which  were 
covered  with  fine  wire  screens.  A  bare-footed  and 
forlorn  looking  woman  with  a  small  babe  in  her  arms 
shouted  to  one  of  the  prisoners : 

"Sally,  are  ye  there?" 

"I  am,"  was  the  reply. 

"What  did  yees  get?" 

"Och,  sure,  and  they  gave  me  fourteen  days  or  a 
pound,  and  Til  have  to  go  to  jail,  for  I've  no  pound." 

"Cheer  up ;  the  fourteen  days  will  soon  be  passin'." 

"What  did  Mike  get?"  shouted  the  woman  from  the 
cell. 

"Och,  sure,  he  was  fined  a  pound,  and  some  one 
paid  it  for  him." 

"That's  just  like  him  to  be  havin'  that  done,"  she  re- 
plied, and  added:  "Look  after  the  things  till  I  get 
out." 

Some  of  the  Christian  women  in  and  around  Dublin 
have  organized  the  "Woman's  Prison  Gate  Mission," 
and  have  accomplished  a  great  deal  of  good.  They 
have  a  committee  of  ladies  at  the  prison  gate  every 
morning,  and  these  excellent  women  induce  many  of 
the  unfortunate  ones  to  go  with  them  to  this  worthy 
institution,  and  many  of  them  having  been  brought 
under  Christian  influence  have  been  led  to  a  better 
life. 

They  have  a  laundry  connected  with  the  mission 
which  gives  employment  to  a  great  many  women.     In 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       ^^ 

company  with  one  of  the  ladies  interested  in  this  mis- 
sion, I  visited  it  and  assisted  in  a  religious  service. 
There  were  something  over  a  hundred  women  pres- 
ent,and  many  of  them  were  deeply  affected.  We  are 
too  apt  to  regard  those  who  have  gone  so  far  down  as 
hopeless  cases.  Many  of  these  men  and  women  only 
need  a  helping  hand. 


98  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


-     CHAPTER  XII. 

BANK  OF  IRELAND  AND  TRINITY  COLLEGE- 

FTT  HE  Bank  of  Ireland,  once  used  as  the  House  of 
&lls  Parliament  of  Ireland,  is  a  large,  imposing 
building.  It  was  completed  in  1787  and  was 
purchased  in  1802  by  the  company  of  the  Bank  of  Ire- 
land. In  being  shown  through  this  old  building,  I 
was  quite  interested  in  the  old  House  of  Lords,  which 
remains  as  it  did  in  the  long  ago,  except  the  statue  of 
King  George  III  occupies  the  site  of  the  throne. 
Trinity  College,  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  street  from  the  Bank  of  Ireland,  is  a  fine  old  struct- 
ure. It  is  surounded  by  large  and  finely  laid  out 
grounds,  on  which  could  be  seen  the  students  en- 
gaged in  their  various  field  sports.  This  college  was 
founded  in  the  time  of  Pope  John  XXII  and  closed 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  It  was  re-opened  by 
Queen  Elizabeth,  who  formed  it  into  a  corporation. 
In  1627  a  new  code  of  laws  were  framed  for  this  col- 
lege. A  son  of  a  friend  of  mine  living  in  Black  Rock 
who  is  a  student  in  the  college  there,  showed  me 
through  the  different  buildings.  Some  of  them  have 
been  built  in  the  past  few  years  and  others  show  the 
touch  of  time.  The  library  contains  300,000  volumes. 
From  these  old  halls  of  learning  have  gone  some  of 
the  brightest  men  the  world  has  known.  The  general 
Post  Office  is  another  large  stone  building  standing  on 
Sackville  street.     It  has  a  huge  portico  which  extends 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       99 

out  over  the  pavement,  surmounted  by  three  figures — 
Hibernia,  Mercury  and  Fidelity. 

While  in  Dublin  I  heard  of  an  English  tourist  who 
was  seeing  the  city  from  an  Irish  jaunting  car  and  as 
he  rode  along  Sackville  street  he  said  to  Pat :  ''What 
building  is  that?" 

'It's  the  gineral  Post  Office,  sorr,"  he  replied. 

"What  do  those  figures  represent?" 

"The  apostles,  sorr." 

The  Englisman,  thinking  to  get  the  best  of  Pat, 
said:  "There  were  twelve  apostles.  Where  are  the 
others?" 

But  Pat  was  ready  with  his  bundle  of  wit,  and  said : 

"Why,  sorr,  the  rest  are  insoide  sortin'  the  let- 
thers." 

Dublin  has  a  number  of  large  churches,  the  largest 
being  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  and  the  Christ  Church 
Cathedral.  The  former  occupies  the  site  of  a  relig- 
ious edifice  built  by  St.  Patrick  who  Christianized  Ire- 
land in  432.  The  cathedral  is  near  the  well  from 
which  he  baptized  his  converts.  The  present  build- 
ing was  begun  by  Archbishop  Comyn  in  1 190,  and  re- 
stored after  a  portion  of  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1370.  Among  the  monuments  in  the  cathedral  is  one 
to  Boyle,  Earl  of  Cork.  There  are  also  tablets  in 
memory  of  some  of  Dublin's  honored  citizens  of  cen- 
turies ago.  Christ  Church  Cathedral  was  first  erected 
in  1038.  It  was  in  this  church  that  the  liturgy  was 
first  read  in  the  English  tongue.  The  Methodist, 
Presbyterian  and  Baptists  have  several  fine  churches. 
The  Roman  Catholics,  which  are  the  leading  denom- 
ination, have  several  large  chapels  which  seemed  to  be 
well  attended.       As  I  traveled  through  the  British 


100      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Isles  and  saw  the  vast  number  of  churches  of  various 
creeds  I  conckided  that  surely  no  one  need  miss  the 
''homeward  way." 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  have  a  fine 
building  on  Sackville  street.  They  have  a  large  mem- 
bership of  good,  active  Christian  young  men,  and  a 
good,  live,  up-to-date  secretary,  who  has  the  happy 
faculty  of  interesting  the  boys  in  the  work  along  ail 
lines.  He  also  has  a  very  cordial  way  in  receiving 
strangers.  He  makes  them  feel  at  home  as  soon  as 
they  enter  the  building.  I  was  engaged  for  several 
evenings  at  this  ''Gospel  Life  Saving  Station,"  assist- 
ing him  and  his  worthy  assistant  and  his  earnest  band 
of  workers  in  throwing  out  the  "Life  Line,"  and  they 
succeeded  in  rescuing  about  twent}^five  young  men. 
Their  custom  in  the  meetings  is  to  announce  the  num- 
ber of  the  hymn ;  then  the  organist  plays  the  melody, 
after  which  the  hymn  is  read.  One  evening  I  read 
two  lines  of  the  hymn  and,  using  an  old  American 
term,  said :  "We  will  sing  without  further  lining."  I 
noticed  the  amused  look  on  the  faces  of  the  men  and 
saw  them  exchanging  glances.  I  soon  found  my 
term  was  not  understood.  They  finally  took  up  the 
piece  and  sang  it.  After  the  meeting  some  of  them 
gathered  up  their  books  and  said  in  a  way  that  made 
me  laugh  heartily  : 

"We'll  sing  without  Hning.  What  kind  of  lining 
do  you  mean?  Sing  without  lining  in  your  hat  or  coat 
or  trousers?     Who  ever  heard  of  singing  that  way?" 

I  was  very  careful  not  to  use  that  term  again.  A 
man  said  to  me  in  Dublin : 

"You  Yankees  use  a  great  many  odd  expressions. 
A  Yankee  asked  me  one  day  where  he  would  strike  a 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      loi 

barber,  and  I  said,  'What  did  the  barber  do  that  you 
want  to  strike  him?'  I  soon  learned,"  he  remarked, 
that  the  man  meant  to  do  the  barber  no  harm,  but  sim- 
ply wanted  to  get  shaved." 

One  day,  in  company  with  the  secretary,  called  to 
see  a  nice-looking,  intelligent  young  man  w^ho  was  se- 
riously ill.  Two  years  previous  in  a  meeting  at  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall  he  decided  to  take  the  homeward 
path  and  from  that  time  had  been  a  very  consistent 
Christian.  He  well  understood  that  his  stay  on  earth 
was  very  brief.  The  secretary  asked  him  how  he  felt 
in  regard  to  taking  the  journey  to  the  Unseen  Land. 
His  face  brightened  as  he  said : 

'T  have  no  fear,  sir.  I  settled  the  great  question 
two  years  ago  and  am  well  prepared  for  the  journey." 

A  smile  played  over  his  face  as  he  talked  of  the 
home  beyond.  He  listened  with  rapt  attention  as  we 
sang  to  him  one  ®f  Fanny  Crosby's  sweet  hymns : 

"Some  day  the  silver  chords  will  break 

And  I  no  more  as  now  will  sing, 
But,  O'h,  the  joy  when  I  awake 

Within  the  palace  of  the  king." 

He  died  a  few  days  afterward,  singing  "I  shall  know 
Him  by  the  prints  of  the  nails  in  His  hands."  His 
sorrow-stricken  mother  said  to  me : 

"He  was  a  Christian  in  his  home  and  will  be  greatly 
missed,  but  his  triumphant  death  will  always  be  a 
great  consolation  to  me." 


102  A  YAN'KEE  BAiCH'ELOR  ABROAD. 


-  CHAPTER  XIII. 

HOSPITALS  AND  PARKS. 

DUBLIN  has  several  charitable  institutions  and 
finely  equipped  hospitals.  One  day  in  com- 
pany with  a  friend,  I  called  at  the  almshouse 
and  asked  permission  to  visit  the  institution.  "How 
much  time  have  you?"  asked  the  attendant. 

*'Well,  I  think  we  have  about  twenty  minutes,"  I 
repHed. 

"Och,  sure,  sir,  a  bird  couldn't  fly  through  in  that 
time,"  he  said. 

After  going  through  this  immense  place  with  its 
several  hundred  inmates,  we  concluded  the  attendant 
was  right.  There  are  also  a  number  of  beautiful 
squares  in  the  city.  Stephen's  Green  is  a  large  and 
handsome  plot,  surrounded  by  many  fine  homes.  It 
is  very  tastefully  laid  out  and  contains  choice  plants 
and  flowers  and  a  miniature  lake  on  whose  bosom 
various  kinds  of  water  fowls  can  be  seen.  From  the 
pavilion  the  people  are  treated  to  some  excellent 
music  by  the  band  employed  by  the  city.  The  Phoe- 
nix Park  is  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  contains 
1,700  acres  of  nicely  laid  out  grounds  in  which  are  a 
number  of  monuments.  One  of  them  is  in  memory 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  erected  by  his  fellow- 
townsmen  in  181 7.  I  found  an  old  coin  at  the  base  of 
this  monument  bearing  the  date  of  1628.  The  Vice- 
regal Lodge  is  situated  about  the  centre  of  the  park. 
This  is  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  summer  home.     Not  far 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      103 

away  is  where  the  noted  Phoenix  Park  murder  took 
place.  A  very  seedy  looking  character  stood  on  the 
spot  airing  himself  on  the  subject,  expecting  a  few 
pence  for  his  information.  The  secretary  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  invited  me  to  assist  in  an  open  air  service  at 
the  park  one  evening. 

"We  are  not  troubled  with  the  rough  element,"  he 
said.     "We  usually  have  a  very  attentive  audience. 

We  were  scarcely  on  the  grounds  when  nearly  a 
score  of  young  men  of  the  "baser  sort"  gathered  about 
us,  each  bent  on  doing  his  best  to  break  up  the  meet- 
ing. 

"Say,  there,"  one  of  them  shouted  to  the  speaker, 
"don't  be  goin'  round  so  much ;  yees'll  get  dizzy  and 
befallin'  down." 

"Hauld  yer  tongue,"  called  out  another;  "yees 
know  nothin'  about  it." 

But  none  of  their  remarks  seemed  to  disturb  him. 
When  he  had  finished  speaking,  the  secretary  said : 

"We  have  a  gentleman  from.  America  who  will  sing, 
accompanied  by  his  autoharp." 

"Hello,  Yankee,"  they  shouted  as  they  closed  in 
around  me.     "And  what  do  yees  call  that  thing?" 

"It  is  an  autoharp,"  I  replied,  as  I  tried  to  keep  a 
tight  rein  on  a  laugh  that  was  about  getting  the  best 
of  me. 

"Say,  Yankee,  play  us  a  jig  and  I'll  dance  for  yees," 
said  a  weazen-faced  fellow,  standing  near  me. 

"Hello,  Yankee,  give  us  'Rosy  O'Grady,'  "  shouted 
another. 

"Give  us,  'There's  no  place  like  the  poor  house,'  " 
said  one  of  them  whose  appearance  indcated  that  he 
knew  by  experience,     I  knew  I  should  have  to  be  on 


104      A  YANKEE  BA€HELOR  ABROAD. 

my  guard  or  would  be  side-tracked  by  these  bundles 
of  wit  and  fun.  Finally  I  lifted  up  my  voice  in  song 
and  soared  away  on  some  very  lofty  notes.  But  they 
struck  a  higher  key  and  shouted  various  kinds  of  ex- 
pressions in  rag  time.  But  I  was  determined  to  keep 
on  the  main  track  and  did  so  until  I  had  passed  out. 
the  seven  verses  of  the  piece. 

''His  Satanic  Majesty  has  made  an  excursion  from 
the  lower  regions  and  brought  the  worst  he  had/'  I 
remarked. 

"Oh,  this  is  nothing  to  what  we  have  had  in  some 
localities,"  was  the  answer. 

After  another  address,  of  which  we  heard  but  lit- 
tle, the  secretary  requested  me  to  test  my  voice  again. 
As  soon  as  it  was  announced  the  American  would 
again  take  part,  a  chorus  of  voices  shouted,  "Hello 
Yankee,  give's  another  song."  One  fellow  with  his 
rich  brogue,  said :  "Say,  there,  give  us  There's  no 
place  like  home  wid  the  fire  out.'  "  Then  another 
shouted,  "Give  us  'Yankee  Doodle.'  " 

It  was  more  of  an  efifort  than  before  to  keep  myself 
in  a  condition  to  render  any  service.  I  raised  my 
hand  and,  securing  their  attention,  said  to  them: 
"Boys,  if  you  should  come  to  America  I  would  not 
treat  you  this  way." 

"Eh,  that's  all  right,  Yankee,"  one  of  them  replied. 
I  would  have  quieted  them  but  for  one  fellow  who 
seemed  to  be  the  leader  and  who  was  a  fac  simile  of  the 
"Old  Man,"  whose  unseen  presence  headed  the 
crowd. 

"Listen,"  I  said,  "I  will  sing  you  a  piece,  entitled 
^My  mother's  face.'  " 

"Your  mother's  face?"  one  fellow  shouted.     "Well, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       105 

what  kind  of  a  face  did  your  mother- have?"  "Did 
yer  mother  have  a  nice  face  on  her?"  shouted  another 
fellow.  ''Was  it  a  good  face  yer  mother  had?"  called 
out  another  of  the  crowd. 

I  could  scarcely  refrain  from  joining  in  the  laugh 
that  their  remarks  caused.  Finally  I  got  control  of 
my  risibilities  and  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  that  bois- 
terous crowd  and  sang  in  a  key  that  I'm  sure  was 
heard  above  their  shouts,  ''Of  what  kind  of  a  face  had 
yer  mother?" 

At  the  close  of  the  service  I  said  to  them,  as  they 
gathered  about  me,  "Boys,  I  will  forgive  you  for 
treating  me  so  discourteously.  You  come  over  to  my 
country  and  see  if  you  are  treated  in  like  manner." 

Most  of  this  jolly,  witty  crowd  seemed  to  be 
ashamed  of  their  conduct.  One  of  them  said :  "Say, 
Yankee,  yees  can  play  that  thing."  Another  fellow, 
who  had  shouted  himself  hoarse,  came  up  to  me  and 
said :  "Say,  Yankee,  take  us  out  and  get  us  a  porter, 
will  yees?" 

But  that  article  or  something  stronger  had  been 
partially  responsible  for  their  behavior.  Several  po- 
liceman were  standing  near,  but  made  no  attempt  to 
quiet  them.  Only  in  the  case  of  violence  do  they  in- 
terfere. 

This  excellent  band  of  young  men  and  women 
seemed  to  be  undaunted.  One  of  the  workers  in- 
formed me  that  one  evening  at  an  open  air  meeting 
he  announced  the  hymn,  "What  can  wash  away  my 
stains?" 

A  lad  shouted,  "Sunlight  soap,  sir." 

Another  gentleman  whom  I  knew  was  addressing  a 


io6  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

similar  meeting  in  a  very  earnest  manner.  A  man  in 
the  audience  called  to  him  and  said : 

"Say,  there,  don't  yee  be  makin'  so  much  noise. 
Didn't  yees  know  there  was  a  woman  sick  at  Balls 
Bridge?     Yees'll  be  disturbin'  her." 

The  place  referred  to  was  three  miles  from  the 
speaker.  Any  one  appreciating  Irish  wit  would  find 
it  difficult  to  keep  in  a  devotional  frame  of  mind  at 
one  of  these  meetings  where  these  characters  were 
passing  out  their  wit. 

Dublin  has  several  fine  business  streets  along  which 
are  large  "shops"  fitted  up  very  attractively.  Of  a 
pleasant  afternoon  these  thoroughfares  are  crowded 
with  many  finely-dressed  people,  most  of  whom  oc- 
cupy the  many  splendid  homes  in  and  around  the 
city.  Dublin  has  the  reputation  of  having  more 
handsome  women  than  any  other  city  in  the  world, 
and  as  one  walks  through  its  streets  and  sees  the 
many  fair-complexioned  lassies  with  the  rosy  tint  on 
their  cheeks  which  nature's  hand  painted,  and  also 
those  who  have  swept  over  into  middle  life  and  car- 
ried with  them  considerable  of  their  youthful  beauty, 
he  is  at  once  convinced  that  Dublin  is  entitled  to  the 
honor.  In  speaking  of  the  beauty  of  the  Dublin  wo- 
men at  a  little  gathering  in  a  town  in  New  Jersey  one 
evening,  a  boy  said  to  two  young  women,  fresh  from 
the  Green  Isle : 

"You  had  better  go  back  to  Ireland  and  get  your 
beauty;  you  came  over  without  it." 

The  remark  made  even  the  blushing  Irish  lassies 
laugh. 

The  houses  of  Dublin  are  principally  built  of  darlc 
brick  and  range  from  two  to  five  stories  high.     Dur- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      107 

ing  my  stay  of  several  months  in  and  around  this  beau- 
tiful city  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  several  of  the 
occupants  of  these  homes,  and  also  found  that  the 
"latch  string"  had  not  been  shortened  in  the  homes  of 
those  whom  I  met  on  my  former  visit.  The  first  time 
I  called  at  one  of  these  homes,  I  was  met  at  the  door 
by  two  little  girls  who  threw  their  arms  about  my  neck 
and  said,  ''Welcome  to  our  home."  But  the  years 
that  had  passed  since  that  visit  had  swept  these  girls 
over  on  the  verge  of  young  womanhood,  and  on  en- 
tering that  home  again  they  gave  me  a  good  Irish 
welcome,  but  did  not  demonstrate  it  as  before.  I 
presume  they  thought  it  might  be  rather  embarrassing 
to  their  Yankee  bachelor  friend.  These  girls  were 
bright  and  intelligent  and  possessed  a  large  vein  of 
wit  and  fun.  They  were  ever  ready  to  play  some 
prank  on  me,  which  was  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  their 
father  and  mother.  If  I  remained  over  night  I  usu- 
ally had  to  closely  investigate  my  resting  place,  for 
they  frequently  had  it  arranged  so  that  I  would  h;;?ve 
to  readjust  it  before  I  could  tuck  myself  away  for  the 
night.  The  many  pleasant-  evenings  spent  in  that 
home  at  Sidney  Parade  are  among  the  brightest  re- 
membrances of  my  visit  to  Old  Ireland.  Several  of 
my  friends  whom  I  first  met  at  a  picnic  (or  tea)  at  the 
Hill  of  Howth  in  the  summer  of  1894  had  not  been 
content  to  remain  in  the  quiet  harbor  of  "single 
blessedness,"  but  had  secured  mates  and  embarked 
on  the  "sea  of  matrimony."  They  gave  me  an  abund- 
ance of  advice  "to  go  and  do  likewise,"  but  I  thought 
their  matrimonial  sea-faring  life  too  brief  for  their  ad- 
vice to  have  as  much  weight  as  if  they  had  been  "Old 
Salts."     One  of  them  whom  I  thought  was  a  fixture 


io8  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

in  the  harbor  during  my  last  visit,  suddenly  weighed 
anchor  and  sailed  away  with  a  very  excellent  mate. 

''Come  and  spend  the  night  with  us,"  said  one  of 
these  friends  one  day.  I  accepted  his  invitation  and 
quite  enjoyed  my  visit  at  his  home.  His  wife  was  a 
sharp,  witty  girl  and  had  the  ready  change  to  pass  out 
to  those  who  came  her  way.  Her  husband  playfully 
remarked : 

"My  wife  and  I  were  out  walking  the  other  day  and 
we  saw  an  old  donkey  grazing.  I  wanted  her  to  stop 
and  speak  to  her  relative,  but  she  was  ashamed  of  him 
and  passed  him  by." 

She  turned  to  him,  and  said :  "Jin^iT^y?  h^  was  only  a 
relative  by  marriage  and  I  know  enough  of  the  family. 
I  married  you,  and  not  the  whole  of  them." 

I  made  the  room  ring  with  laughter  as  Jimmy  took 
his  change. 

When  we  came  from  the  house  the  next  morning 
we  were  caught  in  a  cyclone.  It  was  not  equal  to 
those  we  have  in  America,  but  came  with  sufficient 
force  to  take  the  roofs  from  several  houses  and  uproot 
some  of  the  large,  old  trees  in  the  Trinity  College 
grounds.  We  took  refuge  back  of  a  stone  wall,  but 
the  storm  increased  in  its  fury  and  my  friend  said,  "We 
had  better  make  an  effort  to  reach  home." 

The  wind  was  blowing  fiercely  and  the  rain  falling 
in  great  sheets.  With  my  grip  in  one  hand  and  my 
umbrella  in  the  other,  I  started  up  the  street,  when  a 
heavier  blast  carried  away  my  umbrella,  which  was 
soon  followed  by  my  new  Irish  hat.  "Ji^^^iy"  ran  in 
pursuit  of  the  run-away  articles,  and  I  braced  myself 
against  a  nearby  wall  and  held  fast  to  my  grip,  and 
with  great  difficulty  kept  my  feet  which,  under  ordi- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       109 

nary  circumstances,  prove  to  be  sufficient  ballast  to 
hold  me  steady.  I  finally  blindly  made  my  way  back 
to  Jimmy's  domicile.  All  the  while  the  storm  was 
wreaking  vengeance  on  me.  He  overtook  me  with 
the  hat  and  umbrella,  which  were  complete  wrecks. 
I  was  thoroughly  drenched  and  imagined  I  had  the 
appearance  of  being  fished  out  of  the  Liffey. 

''You  will  surely  have  to  furnish  me  with  a  suit  of 
clothing,"  I  said  to  Jimmy  as  we  entered  the  house. 

"Why,  you  could  not  get  into  my  clothing,'^  he 
replied. 

"I  shall  have  to  crowd  myself  into  them  in  some 
way,"  I  said,  "for  I  cannot  remain  in  this  condition." 

He  gave  me  the  clothing  and  when  I  made  my 
appearance  there  was  a  roar  of  laughter.  The  trous- 
ers were  exceedingly  brief,  and  the  waist  short  of  the 
size  I  require  by  several  inches.  I  made  no  attempt 
to  fasten  the  shirt.  In  doing  so  I  w^ould  have  foiuid  it 
difficult  to  have  taken  in  oxygen.  The  coat  was  a 
very  scant  pattern  and  would  have  answered  nicely  in 
length  for  some  I  see  worn  now  by  our  up-to-date 
lads.  The  heels  of  the  stockings  "struck"  me  in  the 
ball  of  the  foot.  The  greater  part  of  the  day  I  spent 
beside  the  open  grate,  much  to  the  amusement  of 
Jimmy  and  his  good  wife,  and  also  of  the  servant  who 
superintended  the  drying  of  my  clothing.  The  reader 
can  imagine  the  picture.  A  man  towering  over  six 
feet  high,  atired  in  the  clothing  of  one  about  five 
feet,  six. 


no      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BREAKING  OUT  OF  THE  SOUTH        IFRICAN  WAR. 

\  I  #  HERE  were  a  great  number  of  soldiers  quar- 
&IIq  tered  at  the  Richmond  barracks  on  the  sub- 
urbs of  the  city.  The  streets  of  Dublin  were 
alive  in  the  evenings  with  these  gay-uniformed  lads, 
many  of  whom  had  an  Irish  lass  holding  fast  to  their 
arms.  Gay  uniforms  seem  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  many 
of  the  lassies  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

A  friend  in  a  village  in  Scotland  requested  me  to 
call  at  the  barracks  and  see  a  lad  from  that  place.  I 
found  him  quite  a  young  fellow,  not  yet  out  of  his 
teens.  It  was  a  case  of  father  bringing  a  new  mother 
into  the  home  and  the  boy  found  it  rather  hard  to  fall 
in  line  with  the  new  rules  she  introduced  and  con- 
cluded rather  than  submit  to  it  to  serve  the  good  Old 
Queen. 

''How  do  you  like  the  life  of  a  soldier  thus  far?"  I 
asked  of  him. 

''Oh,  its  a  bonnie  life,"  he  replied.  "I  am  anxious 
to  get  away  from  here,  though,  to  some  foreign  coun- 
try." 

I  presume  that  wish  was  gratified,  for  in  a  short 
time  after  my  visit  to  the  barracks  the  war  broke  out 
in  South  Africa  and  many  of  these  boys  were  hurried 
away  to  the  front,  and  the  blood  of  many  of  them 
whom  I  saw  in  the  barracks  and  on  the  streets  of  Dub- 
lin have  stained  the  sands  of  that  far-off  land.  The 
Inniskilling  Dragoons,  the  Royal  Dublin  Fusiliers  and 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      in 

the  Royal  Irish  Rifles  and  the  Imperial  Yeomanry 
fought  bravely  for  their  country,  and  many  of  the 
English  victories  in  South  Africa  are  due  to  the  brav- 
ery of  the  Irish  soldiers.  The  Irish  officers  have  also 
distinguished  themselves  by  their  ability  and  bravery. 
Lord  Roberts,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  his  son 
had  just  fallen  in  battle,  when  he  saw  the  Queen's 
forces  in  great  peril  laid  aside,  in  a  measure,  his  sor- 
row and  hurried  to  the  front  and  gathered  up  the 
tangled  threads  and  so  wisely  adjusted  them  as  to 
bring  several  victories  to  Old  England,  and  that  with 
a  comparatively  small  loss  of  life.  General  White, 
whose  home  is  in  the  County  Antrim,  1ms  made  a  rec- 
ord of  which  the  Irish  people  are  proud.  Whenever 
the  Queen's  lads  left  Dublin  for  the  seat  of  war  there 
were  usually  great  crowds  at  the  quay  to  see  them 
off.  ^There  were  very  often  some  very  touching 
scenes  witnessed.  Sometimes  was  seen  a  mother  part- 
ing with  her  boy  or  a  wife  saying  good-bye  to  her  hus- 
band, or  some  lass  dropping  a  few  tears  over  the  de- 
parture of  the  lad  of  her  choice. 

I  did  hear  of  a  woman  whose  grief  was  not  a  bur- 
den to  her.  As  she  stood  on  the  quay,  seeing  her 
husband  off  for  the  seat  of  war,  he  shouted  to  her : 

"Good-bye,  Mary  Ann." 

"Good-bye,  Mike,"  she  replied.  "If  yees  bate  the 
Boers  as  well  as  ye  have  me  the  last  four  years,  they'll 
be  well  baten." 

Possibly  there  were  others  glad  to  have  a  "bit"  of 
quietness  in  the  home.  I  met  two  young  men  in  a 
restaurant  in  Kahki  suits  who  had  enlisted  with  the 
Imperial  Yeomanry. 


112  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

''How  do  you  feel  about  leaving  for  the  front?"  I 
inquired. 

''Oh/'  one  of  them  said,  "I  would  not  mind  it  but 
for  my  mother. .  I  am  the  only  boy,  and  she  takes  it 
so  to  heart  about  me  leaving  home.  I  did  not  think 
she  would  feel  so  bad  about  it  or  I  would  not  have  en- 
listed, but  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  now,  but  to  go." 

"Well,  when  I  enlisted,"  the  other  lad  remarked, 
"I  knew  it  meant  going  to  the  front,  and  I  am  anxious 
to  get  there,  but  then  a  fellow  don't  know  whether 
he  will  get  back  again  and  that  is  not  very  consol- 
ing," he  added. 

I  met  a  poor  lad  on  the  train  going  from  Dublin  to 
Belfast,  who  had  been  wounded  in  one  of  the  battles. 
He  said: 

"I  am  only  19  years  old.  I  am  so  disabled  by  this 
wound  that  I  am  unfitted  for  further  service.  I  think 
I  will  get  my  discharge  soon."  And  added:  "My 
brother  was  killed  beside  me  in  the  same  battle  in 
which  I  was  wounded.  He  was  a  good  fellow  and  ex- 
pected a  promotion  soon,  but  I  was  too  fond  of  strong 
drink  to  expect  anything  like  that.  I  see  my  mistake 
now." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "let  the  article  alone  and  you  can 
yet  make  a  man  of  yourself." 

"I  am  on  my  way  hame,"  he  said,  "but  I  dread 
meeting  my  mother  for  my  brother  and  I  left  home  to- 
gether and  when  she  sees  me  coming  back  without 
him  she  will  take  on  dreadfully." 

He  was  a  very  bright,  interesting  lad,  who  seemed 
to  be  made  of  good  timber. 

One  day  on  one  of  the  corridor  trains  in  going  from 
Holy  Head  Wales,  a  rough  looking  soldier  was  pac- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      113 

ing  the  aisle,  and  finally  stopped  at  our  compartment 
door  and  began  a  conversation  with  us.  He  finally 
said : 

"Vm  just  after  gettin'  out  of  prison  in  Dublin. 
Two  soldiers  who  are  in  the  other  compartment  have 
me  in  charge,  taking  me  back  to  my  company." 

*'What  was  the  cause  of  your  imprisonment?"  we 
inquired. 

''Och,  sure,  while  we  were  stationed  in  Dublin  I 
was  drunk  and  struck  a  mon  and  nearly  killed  him, 
and  if  I  had  been  sober  I'd  given  him  more." 

We  tried  a  light  temperance  lecture  on  the  lad,  but 
he  said: 

''Sure'n,  I'm  to  fond  of  the  bottle  to  be  given  it  up." 


114  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  AB>ROAD. 


-    CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  DUBLIN  HORSE  SHOW  AND  A  TRIP   TO   THE  OLD  FARM. 

^F^piLL  you  accompany  us  to  the  Dublin  horse 
\/\J       show?"  said  a  friend  to  me  one  day. 
^  ^  ''What  is  the  character  of  it?"  I  inquired. 

"Oh,  it  is  simply  a  display  of  thoroughbred  horses 
and  jumping  competitions,"  he  replied. 

We  boarded  a  tram  car  and  he  and  his  two  sons  and 
I  were  soon  helping  to  swell  the  immense  crowd  of 
people  that  were  making  their  way  into  this  show, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  largest  one  of  the  kind  in  the 
world.  I  became  very  much  interested  in  looking 
at  some  of  the  fine  stock  on  exhibition.  The  Ros- 
common sheep  were  the  largest  I  ever  saw. 

"How  much  do  you  think  that  sheep  would  weigh?" 
I  asked  my  friend  who  dealt  in  stock. 

"Well,"  he  rephed,  "It  will  weigh  nearly  300  lbs." 

There  were  also  several  immense  cows  and  fine 
specimens  of  stock  of  different  kinds.  There  were  a 
great  number  of  stalls  in  which  were  some  of  the  finest 
horses  I  have  ever  seen.  It  seemed  there  could  not  be 
anything  more  perfect  in  the  way  of  horse  flesh.  We 
met  a  gentleman  who  had  a  splendid  animal  for  sale, 
and  wished  us  to  see  it.  I  knew  something  of  this 
horse,  for  I  had  ridden  behind  him  in  company  with 
this  gentleman  along  some  of  the  fine  roads  in  County 
Wicklow  and  could  recommend  him  as  being  fleet 
footed.  My  friends  had  to  exercise  a  great  amount 
of  patience  with  me  for  I  found  myself  stopping  at 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      irs 

the  different  stalls  admiring  these  animals,  all  of  which 
looked  as  though  they  had  an  abundance  of  oats.  It 
was  estimated  there  were  about  15,000  people  on  the 
grand  stand  and  in  the  general  enclosure  to  witness 
the  jumping  competitions.  Their  Excellencies,  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  and  Countess  Cadagan,  were  pres- 
ent, and  hundreds  of  the  elite  from  nearly  all  parts  of 
the  British  Isles.  There  were  also  many  of  the  pick- 
pocket brotherhood  present,  watching  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  transfer  the  valuables  of  some  unsuspecting 
ones  to  their  own  pockets.  However,  none  of  them 
made  any  attempt  to  lay  hands  on  my  belongings. 
The  military  band  rendered  some  excellent  music, 
which  was  greatly  appreciated  by  that  large  concourse 
of  people.  The  parade  of  coaches  was  a  fine  sight; 
some  of  them  were  magnificent,  after  which  came  the 
jumping  competitions.  Those  fine  animals  seemed 
to  spring  over  the  banks  and  ditches  and  stone  walls 
with  great  ease  with  their  rider.  A  young  man  came 
out  on  a  splendid  horse  and  in  jumping  the  first  bank 
the  horse  stumbled  and  threw  the  rider,  landing  him 
on  the  broad  of  his  back.  'Tie  has  broken  his  neck," 
I  said  to  one  of  the  gentlemen. 

''Oh,  I  think  not,"  he  said. 

"You  will  find  that  fellow  is  either  dead  or  dying." 
I  further  remarked.  Two  men  ran  to  him  with  a 
stretcher  and  carried  him  off  the  grounds,  and  he  died 
shortly  after  his  removal.  It  cast  a  gloom  over  the 
entire  gathering.  Shortly  after,  another  horse  in 
jumping  one  of  the  high  banks,  threw  the  rider  and  I 
thought  he,  too,  had  left  for  the  Great  Beyond,  but  in 
a  few  minutes  he  jumped  to  his  feet  and  made  his  way 
out  of  the  enclosure. 


ii6      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"They  are  amateurs,"  said  my  friends,  "and  are  a 
bit  nervous."  We  made  our  way  back  to  where  the 
stock  were.  I  preferred  spending  my  time  in  looking 
at  these  fine  animals,  which  the  Irish  said  could  not  be 
excelled,  and  I  quite  agreed  with  them.  In  company 
with  a  young  man  from  Boston,  Mass.,  whom  I  met 
in  Dublin,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  was  with  me 
at  the  horse  show,  I  rode  out  to  an  old  farm  a  few 
miles  from  Dublin.  We  passed  through  several  little 
villages  and  then  down  along  a  fine  road  to  the  farm. 
No  one  occupied  the  house  except  the  care-taker,  v/ho 
was  a  bachelor  of  long  standing. 

"I  understand  this  place  is  for  sale,"  said  the  gen- 
tleman with  us,  to  the  care-taker. 

"It  is  sir,"  he  replied;  "would  you  Hke  to  see 
through  the  house?" 

"That  is  what  I  came  for,"  said  the  gentleman.  It 
was  a  very  old-fashioned  place.  I  presume  had  stood 
for  a  centui*y  or  more.  In  one  of  the  rooms  was  an 
old  plaster  paris  bust  of  a  woman  which  the  care- 
taker said  the  family  had  left  who  recently  removed. 
"This  is  the  only  woman  about  the  house,"  said  the 
care-taker,  "and  she  is  not  like  the  most  of  women. 
She  has  nothing  to  say." 

As  I  passed  through  the  bachelor's  lonely  quarters 
with  nothing  to  break  the  silence  save  the  sound  of  his 
Irish  boots  as  he  stepped  about  the  carpetless  floor, 
concluded 'I  would  much  prefer  having  a  woman  that 
could  talk  in  the  old  house,  even  though  she  did  use 
her  tongue  freely  in  giving  lectures  on  women's 
rights.  The  old  farm  yard  and  stone  stables  were  de- 
serted. The  only  sign  of  life  about  this  lonely  spot 
was  a  few  chickens,  and  they  seemed  concerned  for 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      117 

their  safety  when  we  put  in  our  appearance,  and  hur- 
ried away  to  the  ancient  looking  henery.  We  were 
glad  when  the  gentleman  had  finished  looking  about 
the  place  and  we  were  fast  leaving  in  the  distance  the 
old  weird  farm  and  its  occupant. 

We  drove  through  a  very  pretty  section  of  County 
Dubhn  to  Black  Rock  to  the  splendid  home  of  Mr. 
W — ,  where  we  were  entertained  in  good  Irish  style 
by  him  and  his  fine  family.  His  large  garden  v/as  filled 
with  vegetables  and  choice  fruits.  Many  of  the  fruit 
trees  were  trained  against  the  sides  of  the  garden  wall. 
The  plums  and  gooseberries  were  of  extraordinary 
size.  In  the  hot  house  there  were  grapes  and  tomia- 
toes  growing.  These  are  grown  altogether  in  the  hot 
houses,  as  they  will  not  mature  in  any  other  v/ay  in 
Ireland.  One  of  my  friends  in  Worcestershire,  Eng., 
who  has  a  truck  farm,  informed  me  that  he  had  re- 
cently set  out  tomato  plants  in  the  field  as  an  experi- 
ment. There  is  not  a  very  great  abundance  of  fruit 
grown  in  Ireland,  but  the  quality  is  excellent. 

DUBLIN'S  SUBURBAN  TOWNS. 

There  are  several  fine  little  towns  in  the  vicinity  of 
Dublin.  Sidney  Parade,  Booterstown,  Black  Rock, 
Monkstown,  Kingston  and  Bray  became  quite  famil- 
iar to  me.  I  spent  about  a  month  at  Black  Rock, 
which  is  about  three  miles  from  the  city  proper. 
There  are  a  number  of  splendid  homes  in  and  around 
this  place,  as  well  as  many  very  small  ones.  This 
town,  as  well  as  the  others  mentioned,  fronts  on  the 
sea.  All  this  chain  of  towns  is  reached  by  electric 
trams  and  steam  cars.  The  ride  on  the  top  of  a  tram, 
which  runs  as  far  south  as  Dalky,  is  a  very  delightful 


u8  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  AB-ROAD. 

one,  as  the  tram  as  well  as  the  steam  cars  run  along 
the  sea  front.  These  cars  are  well  patronized,  espec- 
ially on  Sundays.  Many  of  the  thirsty  ones  from 
Dublin  come  out  to  slake  their  thirst  at  the  many 
public  houses  in  these  towns. 

''Why  do  they  leave  Dublin  to  get  a  'wee  drop?" 
some  one  may  ask.  Well,  they  have  to  be  a  bonafide 
traveler  'three  miles  from  home  to  get  strong  drink 
on  the  Sabbath.  One  would  think  there  were  very 
many  that  distance  from  home  by  the  great  crowds 
thronging  these  ^places  that  are  Ireland's  greatest  en- 
emy. 

I  became  acquainted  with  very  many  excellent  peo- 
ple'in  these  towns,  especially  in  Black  Rock.  I  was 
invited  to  their  homes  and  frequently  v/as  requested 
to  assist  them  in  relieving  their  well-filled  tables  of 
their  burden' of  tempting  food.  Some  of  these  homes 
were  occupied  by  those  having  a  fine  bank  account 
and  others  counted  up  their  shillings  very  quickly, 
and'while  in  some  places  the  meal  was  not  so  elaborate 
yet  the  hospitality  was  quite  as  abundant.  The  lady 
with  whom  I  took  my  meals  and  also  the  one  where  I 
lodged,  were  real  bundles  of  kindness  and  made  my 
stay  there  very  pleasant.  The  latter  was  a  Roman 
Catholic  and  if  every  member  of  that  denomination, 
as  well  as  those  of  other  creeds,  were  as  an  exemplary 
a  Christian  as  I  had  every  reason  to  believe  she  was, 
there  would  be  less  cause  of  criticism  from  the  world. 
In  conversation  with  her  one  day,  she  said : 

'T  was  very  worldly-minded  until  my  two  little  boys 
died.  Then  I  thought  it  time  to  turn  my  attention  to 
living  the  kind  of  life  that  would  enable  me  to  again 
see  those  boys.     One  of  them,"  she  said,  ''died  about 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      119 

Christmas  and  my  mother-heart  was  well-nigh 
broken.  My  clergyman  came  into  my  home  and 
found  me  weeping.  He  said :  'Can't  you  give  the  boy 
to  God  as  a  Christmas  gift?'  Well,"  she  said,  ''it  came 
to  me  with  such  force  that  God  had  given  His  Son 
for  me  that  then  and  there  I  gave  up  my  boy  and  have 
grieved  very  Httle  about  him  since^.  Then  shortly 
after  that  I  was  taken  very  ill  and  the  doctor  had  little 
hope  of  my  recovery.  When  I  looked  at  my  three 
little  helpless  girls  I  felt  very  anxious  to  live  and  rear 
them,  but  I  turned  to  God  and  said,  'Thy  will  be  done ; 
not  mine.'  " 

"That  is  what  I  call  a  fine  type  of  Christianity,"  I 
remarked  to  Rev.  D.  H —  of  Philadelphia,  who  was 
stopping  for  a  few  days  with  me. 

We  found  a  very  excellent  band  of  Christian  work- 
ers at  a  little  hall  where  we  were  assisting  in  a  series 
of  meetings.  Two  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the 
work  were  lawyers.  They  not  only  knew  how  to 
untangle  a  poor  unfortunate  one  from  the  meshes  of 
the  law,  but  also  well  understood  how  to  direct  the 
transgressor  of  God's  law  to  the  Great  Advocate  who 
succeeds  in  getting  an  acquittal  in  every  case  He 
takes  in  hand.  There  was  a  lady  that  lived  in  one  of 
the  large,  fine  homes  in  the  neighborhood  who  fre- 
quently attended  the  meetings.  Her  face  was  always 
an  inspiration  to  the  speaker.  She  had  nearly 
reached  three  score  years  and  ten,  but  she  had  kept 
her  heart  young  by  the  grace  given  her  by  Him  whom 
she  sought  and  found  when  she  was  a  young  lady. 
She  had  so  trained  her  sons  and  daughters  as  to  cause 
them  to  arise  up  and  call  their  mother  blessed.  Each 
of  them  had   followed   the   godly    example   of   their 


120      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

mother  and  were  actively  engaged  in  Christian  work. 

In  company  with  some  friends  I  dined  with  this  ex- 
cellent woman  and  her  family  in  her  well  ordered 
home.  Each  of  us,  I  think,  will  treasure  up  the  kind 
hospitality  shown  us  in  that  home.  One  of  her  sons 
who  was  a  business  man  in  Dublin,  lived  in  a  splendid 
home  a  short  distance  from  his  mother's.  We  spent 
several  pleasant  evenings  with  him  and  his  model  wife 
and  their  interesting  little  girls.  A  short  time  after 
my  arrival  home,  her  son  wrote  me,  saying : 

''Mother  left  us  for  her  home  in  yon  holy  city." 

While  that  fine  home  is  darkened  by  the  absence  of 
this  mother,  heaven  is  all  the  brighter  by  her  presence. 

There  was  always  a  warm  welcome  awaiting  me  at 
the  homes  of  the  two  lawyers.  One  of  them  had  lived 
in  the  old  homestead  since  his  birth.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  himself  and  wife  and  a  son  and  daughter. 
The  latter  was  preparing  for  the  foreign  mission  field. 
One  evening  in  the  meeting  there  were  two  very 
rough  looking  characters.  At  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing one  of  them  came  up  to  me  and  said : 

"This  mon  is  a  mute  and  he's  poor.  Can  yees  give 
him  enough  for  a  night's  lodgin'?" 

I  tried  to  carry  on  a  conversation  with  him  with  my 
fingers,  but  he  simply  looked  at  me  and  smiled  and 
made  no  effort  to  even  make  a  sign.  We  all  had  a 
strong  suspicion  that  the  fellow  could  use  his  tongue 
in  talking  much  better  than  his  fingers.  One  of  the 
workers  gave  them  something  and  charged  them  to 
not  come  again  on  a  begging  expedition.  The  next 
evening  when  I  came  into  the  hall,  there  sat  the  mute 
on  the  front  seat.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he 
grasped  my  hand  and  shook    it    warmly    and    then 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      121 

waited  until  I  was  ready  to  leave.  Mr.  H —  said  to 
me: 

"There  is  your  man  waiting  for  you.  I  think  you 
had  better  remain  here  for  a  little  while."  He  mo- 
tioned for  the  mute  to  leave  the  hall  for  we  had  noth- 
ing to  give  him.  This  gentleman  had  met  similar 
characters  before.  He  finally  crossed  the  street  and 
joined  the  little  fellow  who  was  waiting  near  a  large 
tree.  We  felt  quite  sure  the  fellow  had  the  use  of  his 
tongue  as  he  and  his  comrade  made  their  way  down 
the  street. 

A  lady  who,  in  company  with  her  daughter  and  a 
fine  young  man  who  resided  with  them,  were  very  reg- 
ular in  their  attendance  at  the  meetings.  The  lady  in- 
vited me  to  spend  a  few  days  at  her  home.  Returning 
from  London  to  spend  a  fortnight  in  Old  Ireland  pre- 
vious to  leaving  for  America,  I  paid  a  visit  to  this 
home.  Every  evening,  save  one,  a  company  was  in- 
vited to  thd  house,  some  of  them  coming  out  from 
Dublin.  A  young  lady  who  was  a  fine  performer 
on  the  piano  and  who  had  a  voice  filled  with  music, 
entertained  us  with  some  choice  Irish  pieces.  The 
evenings  were  also  spent  in  pleasant  conversations, 
enriched  with  an  abundance  of  Irish  wit.  The  last 
evening  I  spent  in  that  home  I  said  to  the  company 
gathered  there: 

"In  all  probability  we  shall  never  again  meet  on  this 
Green  Isle,"  and  it  would  seem  to  be  a  true  prophecy, 
for  this  good  lady  and  her  daughter  and  the  young 
man  set  sail  in  a  few  months  after  for  South  Africa  to 
join  this  lady's  husband  who  has  been  there  for  sev- 
eral years  teaching  school.  Since  landing  there,  the 
young  man  and  lady  have  joined  hands  in  matrimony 


122  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  AB'ROAD. 

and  have  settled  down  with  the  old  folks  to  spend 
their  days  in  that  far-off  land. 

One  evening  we  were  invited  to  a  home  a  few  doors 
from  where  I  was  stopping,  and  I  had  another  dem- 
onstration of  good  old  Irish  hospitality.  That  eve- 
ning before  the  company  separated,  they  all  joined  in 
singing,  ''God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again." 

On  Sabbath  morning  in  company  with  the  young 
man  now  in  Africa,  and  two  others,  I  walked  to 
Monkstown  and  attended  the  Friends'  meeting. 
There  was  an  absence  of  the  broad  rimmed  hats  and 
the  plain  bonnets  that  one  sees  in  the  Friends'  meet- 
ings in  some  parts  of  America.  The  meeting  house 
was  not  quite  so  plain  as  we  find  in  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  few  nearby  states.  While  their 
services  were  not  so  elaborate  as  in  many  of  the 
Friends'  meetings  in  Eastern  and  Western  States,  yet 
it  differed  from  that  of  the  primitive  Friends  in  that 
any  one  feeling  moved  to  sing  was  at  liberty  to  do  so. 
After  a  brief  season  of  silent  worship,  a  ministering 
Friend  spoke,  after  which  he  shook  h'^nds  with  the 
one  sitting  beside  him,  which  was  the  sign  of  dismissal. 

One  Sabbath  we  attended  service  at  the  Black  Rock 
Methodist  Church.  When  I  introduced  Rev.  D.  H — 
to  Rev.  Esagan,  he  at  once  invited  him  to  preach. 
After  the  service  a  gentleman  living  in  a  magnificent 
home  sent  word  to  the  pastor  that  he  wished  us  to 
accompany  him  home  to  dinner.  He  and  his  good 
wife  gave  us  a  cordial  welcome  to  their  home,  and  the 
reverend  gentleman  and  myself  did  justice  to  the 
sumptuous  meal.  We  frequently  talk  of  our  visit  to 
Mr.  B — 's  fine,  old  home. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      123 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

KINGSTON  AND  BRAY. 

117  HIS  town  is  about  six  miles  from  the  city  proper. 
<^  I  fe  The  town  has  a  splendid  sea  front  and  one  of 
the  finest  harbors  of  any  seaport  town  in  Ire- 
land. There  is  a  long  stone  pier  extending-  far  out 
into  the  sea.  From  this  pier  the  fast  mail  steamers 
leave  for  Holly  Head,  Wales.  Back  of  the  town  the 
great  hill  of  Killiney  and  Victoria  Mountain  lift  up 
their  heads  several  hundred  feet.  I  spent  several 
days  in  this  town,  assisting  in  a  series  of  meetings  held 
in  one  of  the  halls.  I  was  entertained  at  the  home  of 
a  retired  naval  official  who,  with  his  excellent  wife, 
made  my  stay  so  pleasant  that  I  was  rather  loath  to 
bid  them  farewxll.  I  w^as  also  entertained  in  another 
home,  the  family  of  whom  I  met  on  my  previous  visit 
to  Ireland.  When  this  gentleman  showed  me  to  my 
room  he  said : 

"This  is  the  Trophets'  Chamber.'  People  from 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  world  have  occupied  this  room." 

He  and  his  wife  were  very  much  interested  in  for- 
eign missions  and  returned  missionaries,  and  those  in- 
terested in  Christian  work  always  found  a  welcome  in 
this  home.  One  morning  this  gentleman  and  myself 
were  coming  into  Dublin  and  in  the  compartment 
with  us  were  several  school  children.  One  of  them 
was  a  boy  with  a  number  of  books.  I  said  to  him  as 
he  was  busy  studying  his  lesson : 


124      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Son,  do  you  think  you  have  room  in  your  head  to 
pack  the  contents  of  that  lot  of  books?" 

He  looked  up  into  my  face  and  said  in  a  way  that 
settled  me :  "Sir,  if  I  haven't,  I'll  borrow  yours,  and  if 
that  will  not  do  I  will  borrow  the  man's  with  the  tall 
hat,"  referring  to  my  friend. 

"I  think  I  had  better  take  my  change  and  let  that 
lad  pass  on,"  I  said.  I  was  as  completely  flattened  out 
as  I  was  by  a  boy  in  Wilmington,  Del.  One  day  a 
colored  man  asked  me  for  a  nickel  to  get  a  drink  of 
beer. 

"I  am  not  a  friend  to  beer  or  whisky,"  I  replied. 
"I  would  like  to  sink  them  down  in  perdition  so  far 
the  Old  Man  could  never  get  them  up  again." 

"Say,  boss,"  said  the  colored  fellow,  "some  folks 
say  dey  aint  no  H — ." 

"Well,  I  have  had  a  foretaste  of  Heaven  by  doing 
right  and  of  H —  by  doing  wrong,"  I  replied. 

"Say,  mister,  when  did  you  come  up?"  said  a  white 
boy,  standing  near  me. 

"Don't  talk  to  that  gentleman  that  way.  He's 
talkin'  common  sense." 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "he  said  he  had  been  down 
there.     I  just  wanted  to  know  when  he  come  up." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "he  is  one  of  those  boys  with  a  large 
head." 

"What  size  hat  do  you  wear?"  I  inquired  of  the  boy. 

"No.  7,  sir." 

"Oh,  I  think  a  smaller  size  would  answer."  I 
walked  away  well  assured  the  boy  had  gotten  the  best 
of  me. 

There  was  a  fine  looking  young  man  that  attended 
the  meetings  several  evenings,  whom  I  was  informed 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      125 

was  rather  inclined  to  be  skeptical.  As  soon  as  the 
address  was  finished  he  would  grasp  his  hat  and  hur- 
riedly leave  the  hall.  One  evening  he  came  in  late 
and  was  obliged  to  take  a  seat  near  the  front.  I  pur- 
posed to  have  a  conversation  with  him  before  he  left, 
but  the  speaker  had  scarcely  ended  his  discourse  be- 
fore he  had  his  hat  and  was  moving  rapidly  toward 
the  door.  I  hurried  down  the  aisle  and  overtook  him 
in  the  vestibule. 

''Have  you  settled  the  great  question  spoken  of  in 
the  meeting  this  evening?"  I  asked. 

''I  have  no  time  now,  sir,  to  discuss  the  subject,"  he 
replied  as  he  adjusted  his  overcoat  and  turned  toward 
the  door. 

"And  neither  have  I,  and  it  needs  but  Httle,"  I  said. 
"li  you  are  in  the  mist  and  fog,"  I  added,  ''about  the 
truth  of  the  Old  Book,  test  it  and  you  will  not  be  long 
in  getting  out  into  the  clear  sunlight." 

"I  have  no  time  to  discuss  it,"  he  again  remarked, 
and  passed  out  and  hurried  away  from  the  hall. 

He  gave  the  meetings  a  wide  berth,  for  I  never  saw 
^  him  there  again  and  I  presume  like  hundreds  of  oth- 
ers he  is  still  drifting  about  on  the  ocean  of  hfe  with- 
out the  "Old  Book,"  which  is  the  only  chart  and  com- 
pass by  which  man  can  safely  find  his  way  across  the 
sea  of  time. 

The  home  of  Mr.  C.  Mansel  was  one  of  the  homes 
in  Kingston  that  I  frequently  visited.  The  family  con- 
sisted of  the  father  and  mother  and  two  sons.  It  was 
one  of  those  homes  where  there  seemed  to  be  an 
abundance  of  kind  consideration  for  each  other.  I 
don't  think  in  all  my  travels  I  ever  saw  more  devo- 
tion on  the  part  of  sons  than  was  shown  by  those  two 


126      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

young  men.  The  father  died  while  I  was  in  Ireland, 
but  that  mother,  who  was  a  very  refined,  intelligent 
lady,  was  wonderfully  comforted  by  the  kindness  and 
attention  of  her  boys.  If  every  home  possessed  such 
lads  there  would  not  be  so  many  fathers  and  mothers 
prematurely  old. 

BRAY. 

Bray  is  a  fine  old  seaside  resort  in  County  Wicklow, 
a  few  miles  from  Dublin.  I  visited  this  place  a 
number  of  times.  I  enjoyed  the  view  from  Bray 
Head,  at  whose  rocky  base  dashed  the  waves  of  the 
Irish  Sea.  Only  a  short  distance  beyond  were  the 
Wicklow  Mountains  overlooking  the  sea.  The  scen- 
ery all  through  this  county  is  charming. 

There  are  several  beautiful  places  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bray — The  Dargle  Waterfall,  Glen  of  the  Downs, 
Greystones,  Devil's  Glen,  the  Seven  Churches  and 
Vale  of  Avoca.  Just  across  from  Bray  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Liffey  is  the  peninsular  Hill  of  Howth.  It  is 
the  first  land  mark  sighted  on  approaching  DubHn 
from  the  sea.  Howth  is  a  pleasant  village  situated  on; 
this  high  hill.  From  the  harbor  one  can  take  an  ex- 
cursion boat  to  the  island  of  Ireland's  Eye,  a  huge  hill 
rising  up  from  the  sea.  In  company  with  some 
friends  I  paid  a  visit  to  Howth  and  walked  around  the 
brow  of  this  great  hill.  The  Abbey  of  Howth  is 
pleasantly  located  on  a  steep  over-hanging  the  sea. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      127 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

THE  QUEEN'S  VISIT  TO  IRELAND. 

FOSTERS  could  be  seen  in  many  conspicuous 
places  in  Belfast  headed,  "A  cheap  excursion 
to  Dublin,  Ireland's  capital,  to  witness  the  cel- 
ebration of  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria's  visit  to  Ire- 
land." And  the  day  previous  to  the  good  old 
Queen  landing  at  Kingston,  I  helped  swell  the  crowd 
at  the  Great  Northern  Railway  sation  to  take  my 
chances  of  getting  a  seat  in  one  of  the  compartments, 
and  when  the  train  was  in  readiness  the  tall  form  of 
the  Yankee  was  seen  making  his  way  through  that 
crowd,  all  of  whom  seemed  bent  on  looking  after 
No.  I. 

''Come  in  with  us,"  said  a  friendly  voice  as  I  was 
peering  into  the  compartments  for  a  seat.  I  quickly 
joined  this  friend  and  two  other  gentlemen,  one  of 
whom  I  knew.  The  stranger,  my  friends  -called 
''Doctor."  He  evidently  kept  on  the  sunny  side  of 
life  and  had  a  fund  of  amusing  stories  and  passed 
many  of  them  out,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the 
passengers.  When  he  learned  I  was  from  America 
he  related  some  amusing  Yankee  stories,  using  what 
he  styled  the  "Yankee  twang."  After  he  and  those 
in  the  compartment  had  had  considerable  fun  at  the 
expense  of  my  far-away  country,  I  said  to  him : 

"Why  don't  you  take  a  trip  over  to  that  great  coun- 
try?" 

Giving  his  head  a  toss,  he  said : 


128      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

''Oh,  they  would  not  have  me  over  there." 

''I  think  they  would,"  I  replied,  "for  they  have 
taken  some  pretty  bad  stock  from  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic." 

"You're  welcome  to  them,  and  more,  if  you  Hke," 
was  his  answer. 

Then  one  of  my  friends  who  was  still  pulling  in  sin- 
gle harness,  said : 

"I  was  in  the  company  of  two  Yankee  girls  some- 
time ago  and  they  kept  'guessing'  and  'calculating,' 
and  recently  I  met  two  others  and  they  said,  'I  guess 
so'  and  'I  calculate.'  " 

"You  seem  to  have  a  liking  for  Yankee  girls,  but 
it  is  evident  they  had  not  for  you." 

We  finally  laid  aside  our  pleasantries  and  turned 
our  attention  to  a  small  child  who  had  grown  ill  on 
the  journey.  The  mother,  who  had  several  small  chil- 
dren with  her,  said : 

"I  have  been  traveHng  since  very  early  this  morn- 
ing and  the  child  took  ill  shortly  after  leaving  home." 

The  doctor,  who  seemed  to  be  the  essence  of  kind- 
ness, said  to  the  anxious  mother: 

"Give  me  the  little  one." 

He  took  it  on  his  lap  and  kindly  cared  for  it  until 
we  reached  DubHn.  The  only  remedy  he  gave  it  was 
fresh  air,  as  he  sat  near  the  door.  We  all  felt  our 
need  of  pure  oxygen.  Only  those  who  have  been  ac- 
customed to  traveling  in  our  American  carriages 
know  of  the  real  discomfort  of  taking  a  long  journey 
in  a  compartment  train,  where  one  is  obliged  to  sit  in 
one  position  until  he  reaches  his  destination.  While 
there  are  many  things  I  admire  in  the  British  Isles,  I 
draw  the  line  on  their  railway  carriages.     They  are 


^       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      129 

divided  off  into  first,  second  and  third  class  compart- 
ments, the  only  difference  in  them  being  the  uphol- 
stering. The  vast  majority  of  people  travel  third 
class,  as  the  fare  is  considerable  less.  At  the  stations 
there  are  usually  three  windows  where  the  different 
grade  tickets  are  sold. 

On  our  arrival  at  Dubhn  I  found  the  city  crowded 
with  visitors  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  hotel  accom- 
modation. Thinking  I  might  be  accommodated 
at  the  home  where  I  formerly  boarded  at  Black  Rock, 
I  took  a  tram  car  for  that  place.  Upon  reaching 
there  was  informed  by  the  lady  that  her  rooms  were 
all  occupied  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  even  give 
me  a  place  on  the  floor.  I  came  out  to  the  main 
street  to  take  a  tram  for  Kingston  but  the  over- 
crow^ded  car  swept  by  me  without  heeding  my  signal 
to  stop.  Being  well  furnished  with  walking  gear,  I 
turned  my  steps  toward  this  old  town,  which  was  a 
distance  of  three  miles..  I  had  not  proceeded  far 
when  I  found  my  new  Irish  boots  would  make  it  dif- 
ficult for  me  to  complete  my  journey.  I  was  fully 
aware  of  the  fact  I  was  not  dealing  with  American 
leather.  One  of  my  friends  in  expressing  his  opinion 
of  the  kind  of  material  of  which  my  boots  were  made, 
said  it  was  "horse  hide."  But  I  differed  with  him. 
By  the  action  they  had  on  my  feet  I  decided  it  must 
be  the  outer  coating  of  some  old  donkey  who  -had 
been  accustomed  to  drawing  heavy  loads  of  peat  from 
the  bogs.  However,  I  kept  my  onward  way  along 
this  fine  road,  on  either  side  of  which  were  many  beau- 
tiful homes  enclosed  by  stone  walls,  over  the  top  of 
which  the  ivy  vines  were  creeping.  There  seemed 
to  be  one  continuous  line  of  stone  walls  from  one  town 

.      _         ...  9 


130      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.        1 

to  another.  Darkness  overtook  me  as  I  was  nearing 
Monkstown,  which  is  about  half-way  between  Black 
Rock  and  Kingston.  In  passing  through  this  old 
town  I  caught  sight  of  the  channel  fleet  lying  in  and 
around  the  Kingston  harbor.  The  nine  battleships 
and  four  gunboats  that  had  preceded  the  royal  yacht 
to  Kingston  and  the  fine  armoured  cruiser  "Austra- 
lia," with  nearly  500  men,  which  had  accompanied  the 
royal  yacht  to  Ireland,  were  all  illuminated,  presenting 
one  of  the  finest  sights  I  have  ever  witnessed.  Upon 
reaching  Kingston  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  go  out 
on  the  long  stone  pier  which  was  thronged  with  peo- 
ple and  get  another  view  of  the  grand  display  in  the 
harbor,  but  I  concluded  it  was  more  important  to  con- 
tinue the  search  for  a  place  of  shelter.  I  knocked  at 
the  door  of  a  friend  to  inquire  if  they  knew  where  I 
could  find  lodging.  The  knock  was  answered  by  the 
mother  of  my  friend,  Mansel,  who  in  answer  to  my 
question,  said : 

''Come  in ;  we  are  very  much  crowded,  too,  but  I 
will  try  and  give  you  a  'shake  down'  of  some  kind." 

I  at  once  accepted  of  her  invitation  and  laid  my 
"bundle"  down,  and  was  very  glad  to  part  company 
with  my  Irish  boots  for  a  season.  As  I  tucked  my 
weary  form  away  in  the  "shake  down,"  I  had  some 
doubt  about  it  holding  me  intact.  It  swayed  so  under 
my  weight  of  200  pounds  avoirdupois  that  I  thought 
before  the  day  dawned  it  might  prove  to  be  a  "fall 
down,"  but  the  "shake  down"  was  faithful  to  its  trust 
and  carried  me  through  the  night  safely. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELQiR  ABROAD.  131 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  LANDING  OF  THE  QUEEN. 

\  I  f  HE  morning  broke  with  scarce  a  cloud  to  be 
^  I  fe  seen  and  on  coming  out  on  the  crowded 
streets  I  heard  the  expression  used  quite  free- 
ly :  'This  is  the  Queen's  own  weather."  This  was  the 
Queen's  fourth  visit  to  Ireland.  The  first  time  she 
visited  the  Green  Isle  was  August  5th,  1849.  She 
was  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert  and  her  four  chil- 
dren :  Prince  of  Wales,  Princess  Royal,  Prince  Alfred 
and  Princess  Ahce.  The  second  was  August  29, 
1853,  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert,  her  husband, 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Then  she  came  to  attend 
the  Great  Exhibition  held  in  Merion  Square,  Dublin, 
Her  third  visit  was  in  1861  when  she  came  in  com- 
pany with  Prince  Albert,  who  shortly  afterward  con- 
tracted his  fatal  illness.  Each  time  she  received  a 
very  enthusiastic  and  cordial  reception. 

After  an  absence  of  thirty-nine  years,  which  had 
swxpt  her  over  into  old  age,  she  came  back  to  "Erin," 
and  received  a  rousing  reception  from  her  warm- 
hearted Irish  subjects.  I  had  been  invited  by  a  friend 
to  occupy  a  window  in  his  of^ce  in  Dublin  along  the 
line  of  the  parade,  but  on  reaching  the  railway  station 
near  which  was  the  quay  where  the  royal  yacht  was 
lying,  I  concluded  to  remain  and  take  my  chances  of 
seeing  the  royal  party  from  this  point.  The  trains 
and  trams  came  in  crowded  with  people  frorn  differ- 


132      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ent  points,  and  as  they  joined  the  great  concourse  of 
people  that  were  thronging  the  sea-front,  one  could 
scarcely  get  standing  room.  Three  of  my  friends 
from  Belfast  came  out  on  one  of  the  trains  from  Dub- 
lin and,  on  seeing  me,  one  of  them  said : 

'Why,  here  is  the  tall  Yankee ;  and  what  is  he  doing 
here?" 

''Oh,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  Her  Majesty  who  has 
ruled  yon  lads  so  well,"  I  repHed.  And  added,  "But 
for  making  myself  so  conspicuous  I  would  put  my  lit- 
tle Yankee  flag  on  the  end  of  my  umbrella  and  wave 
a  welcome  in  behalf  of  my  old  great-grandfather  who 
lived  on  the  old  sod." 

"Och,  sure,"  he  said,  "show  your  respects  to  Her 
Majesty  in  that  way." 

"Well,  it  is  in  my  heart  to  do  so,"  I  replied,  "for  I 
have  always  had  a  profound  respect  for  the  good  Old 
Queen." 

In  the  little  park  lying  between  the  station  and  the 
quay  were  a  fine  array  of  soldiers  and  marines,  await- 
ing to  escort  the  royal  party  to  Dublin.  The  excel- 
lent band  played  several  national  airs  which  was  thor- 
oughly enjoyed  by  the  people.  It  was  a  good  nat- 
ured  crowd  and  Irish  wit  flowed  in  abundance. 

A  short  time  before  the  procession  started  the  at- 
tention of  the  crowd  was  attracted  by  a  noted  woman 
of  Ireland  riding  along  the  sea-front  in  an  open  ba- 
rouche. She  had  a  decided  taste  for  green.  She  was 
attired  in  a  flashy  green  silk  dress  and  a  green  bonnet 
and  held  over  her  a  huge  green  parasol.  The  horses 
and  carriage  were  also  very  tastefully  trimmed  with 
same  color. 

"She  is  not  out  in  that  array  to  welcome  the  Queen, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      133 

but  to  show  difiance  to  the  government,"  said  a  man 
near  me.  I  concluded  she  was  a  'Svee  bit"  vain  and 
was  out  for  display. 

Her  Majesty  was  to  land  with  the  royal  party  at 
II  o'clock,  and  a  few  minutes  previous  to  the  old 
clock  in  the  steeple  on  the  Court  House  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  street  ringing  out  the  hour,  the  band 
began  playing  ''God  Save  the  Queen,"  and  while  it 
was  being  played  they  lowered  the  Union  Jack  on  the 
royal  yacht  which  was  the  signal  that  the  Queen  had 
stepped  ashore. 

The  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  George  Henry, 
5th  Earl  of  Cadogan,  conducted  the  Queen  to  the 
royal  carriage,  after  which  Mr.  Robinson,  now  Sir 
Thomas  Robinson,  presented  an  address  of  welcome 
from  the  Kingston  Urban  Council.  Then  the  royal 
party  began  the  long  journey  to  the  Viceregal  Lodge 
in  Phoenix  Park,  with  a  sovereign's  escort  of  life 
guards,  who  were  attired  in  very  attractive  uniforms. 
The  Queen  was  accompanied  by  two  of  her  daughters. 
Princess  Christian  and  Princess  Henry  of  Battenberg. 
The  former  is  the  third  daughter  of  the  Queen  and  is 
loved  and  respected  by  the  nation  because  of  her 
broad  and  philanthropic  spirit.  The  latter  is  the 
widow  of  Prince  Henry  of  Battenberg  and  is  Her  Ma- 
jesty's youngest  daughter.  The  Queen  and  her 
daughters  were  dressed  very  neat  and  plain,  even  more 
so  than  were  many  of  her  subjects.  The  Queen  was  a 
small  woman  and  her  face  showed  the  heavy  touches 
of  time  and  of  the  many  storms  of  sorrow  through 
which  she  had  passed.  I  was  so  intent  on  seeing  her 
that  I  forget  to  lift  my  hat  as  she  was  passing  by. 

"Are  you  not  going  to  pay  your  respects  to  our 


134      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

good  old  Queen?"  shouted  one  of  my  friends.  Then 
grasping  my  new  Irish  hat  cheered  and  shook  it  until 
I  thought  it  would  soon  be  rimless.  There  was  a 
great  sea  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs  waving  all  along 
the  line.  It  kept  the  Queen  busy  bowing  to  the  en- 
thusiastic crowd.  She  was  also  accompanied  by  her 
son,  Prince  Arthur  William  Patrick,  Duke  of  Con- 
naught,  Field  Marshal  and  Commander  of  the  forces 
in  Ireland,  and  the  Duchess  of  Connaught  and  their 
children,  Prince  Albert  of  Connaught,  a  young  man 
about  twenty  years  old  with  a  fine,  interesting  face  and 
Princess  Margaret  and  Princess  Patrician  of  Con- 
naught, who  also  had  faces  indicating  strength  of 
character.  Prince  Alexander,  Princess  Eva,  Prince 
Leopold  and  Prince  Maurice  of  Battenberg,  who  are 
the  children  of  Prince  Henry  of  Battenberg,  were  also 
in  the  procession. 

After  the  royal  party  had  passed,  I  went  down  to 
the  royal  yacht,  Victoria  Albert,  a  side-wheel  steamer 
that,  like  the  Queen,  showed  the  marks  of  age.  It 
had  carried  the  royal  family  to  various  points  for  many 
years,  having  been  built  in  1855.  The  sailors  were 
busy  unloading  the  Queen's  effects,  which  were  num- 
erous. The  little  building  on  the  quay  was  com- 
pletely covered  with  flags  and  bunting  and  the  interior 
decorated  in  a  very  elaborate  manner.  The  gang- 
way was  covered  with  a  very  handsome  red  material 
and  the  floor  leading  from  it  out  to  where  stood  the 
royal  carriage  was  laid  with  a  very  rich  looking  car- 
pet. From  this  building  all  along  the  route  to 
Phoenix  Park,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  was  one  sea  of 
flags  and  decorations  of  various  kinds.  On  coming 
from  the  quays  I  took  a  stroll  along  the  sea  front  for 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      135 

some  distance ;  on  either  side  of  the  avenue  were  poles 
erected  with  bright  colored  streamers  entwined  about 
them,  and  others  stretching  across  the  street  which  in 
some  places  formed  a  complete  arch.  The  various  in- 
scriptions on  the  beautiful  banners  interested  me  very 
much.  Among  them  were  ''God  save  the  Queen," 
"Welcome  back  to  Erin,"  "Welcome,  our  Queen; 
sharer  of  our  people's  sorrow."  There  was  also  one 
in  the  Celtic,  "Cead  Mille  Failthe,"  which  means  "a 
hundred  thousand  welcomes."  There  was  also  this 
quaint  one  on  a  banner  in  Dublin :  "Better  loid  ye  can- 
na  be;  will  ye  na  come  back  again?"  There  were 
grand  stands  erected  all  along  the  entire  route  and 
from  the  mansion  to  the  smallest  cottage  could  be  seen 
Union  Jacks  and  bunting  in  abundance. 

When  I  came  out  to  George's  street  I  boarded  a 
tram  car  to  Dublin  from  the  top  of  which  I  greatly 
admired  the  decorations  all  the  way  to  the  city.  We 
passed  a  little  cottage  where  they  were  celebrating 
the  event  with  a  dance.  An  old  man  sat  in  the  yard 
playing  a  very  ancient  looking  violin  and  the  lads  and 
lassies  were  lifting  their  feet  briskly,  keeping  time  with 
the  Irish  jig.  Sitting  beside  me  was  a  young  woman 
with  a  babe  and  in  front  of  me  sat  two  young  men. 
One  of  them  had  a  Kruger  badge  pinned  on  his  coat 
and  the  other  the  heroes  of  '98.  One  of  them  said  to 
me,  with  his  rich  brogue : 

"They're  makin'  a  great  time  over  the  Old  Queen. 
Why,  if  she  had  come  down  from  Heaven  they  could 
not  make  more  fuss  over  her." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "she  is  a  grand,  good,  old  woman 
and  has  ruled  her  country  well." 

"Och,  well,  that's  true,  but  thin  she'll  have  to  go 


136      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

down  among  the  midlin's  along  wid  the  rest  of  us  whin 
she  dies." 

''You  are  not  very  loyal  to  her,  judging  from  the 
badge  you  are  wearing." 

''Och,  well,  she  or  the  government  never  done  any- 
thing for  us." 

Showing  him  my  little  American  flag,  said :  "That 
is  the  flag  I  am  living  under  and  could  not  think  of 
being  anything  but  loyal  to  the  country  it  represents." 

"That's  a  great  country,"  remarked  the  other  fel- 
low. 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "as  great  as  it  is,  if  any  one  had 
worn  a  Spanish  badge  during  our  trouble  with  Spain, 
they  would  have  received  rough  treatment." 

He  smiled  and  said,  "And  is  that  the  way  you  do 
over  there?" 

"Is  Kruger  a  friend  of  yours?"  I  playfully  remarked 
to  the  one  wearing  the  badge. 

"He  is,"  he  replied. 

"Did  he  ever  give  you  a  pound  note?" 

"He  didn't,  and  I  wants  none  of  his  pounds,  but  he's 
a  friend  all  the  same,"  was  his  answer.  And  added, 
"I  hope  he  never  dies  till  they  can  make  his  coffin 
out  of  a  gooseberry  skin  and  the  frogs  take  him  to  the 
cem'try  and  give  him  a  jumpin'  funeral." 

This  very  odd  expression  amused  me  very  much. 
In  reply,  I  said :  "You  evidently  want  the  old  man  to 
live  a  long  time." 

"Take  that  badge  off,  Mike,  yees'U  be  getin'  into 
trouble,"  said  the  young  woman  sitting  beside  me, 
who,  I  soon  learned,  was  his  wife. 

"I'oil  not  do  it ;  I'm  after  wearin'  it  all  day,"  he  re- 
plied. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      137 

"Och,  we'll  not  get  into  trouble,"  said  the  other 
fellow.  ''No,  we're  not  the  lads  that  run  wid  the  hare 
and  hunt  wid  the  hounds,"  remarked  No.  i. 

'Take  the  child  awhile,  Mike,"  she  said.  As  he 
took  the  little  one,  I  remarked : 

"I  have  no  such  responsibilities  as  that." 

With  his  eyes  sparkling  with  fun,  he  replied  by  say- 
ing: "Yer  lucky;  I  wish  I  was  loike  yees."  She 
looked  at  him  sharply,  but  said  nothing. 

"Does  he  talk  that  way  at  home?"  I  inquired. 

"Indade  and  he  does  not." 

By  the  way  she  said  it  he  evidently  was  quite  docile 
at  home. 

"Well,  good-bye,"  he  said,  "I'm  glad  I  met  yees." 

"And  I'm  not  sorry  I  met  you,"  I  replied. 

The  trio  had  afforded  me  several  hearty  laughs  in 
the  ride  of  six  miles  into  the  city. 


138      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  QUEEN  IN  DUBLIN. 

TTJ  ^^  streets  of  Dublin  were  thronged  with  enthu- 
(^  I  fe  siastic  people  and  the  public  and  many  of  the 
private  residences  were  gayly  decorated.  The 
Queen  had  entered  the  city  proper  through  the  arti- 
ficial gate  at  the  Leeson  street  bridge.  Just  inside  the 
gate  the  Lord  Mayor  and  the  corporation  had  gone 
through  the  interesting  ceremony  of  presenting  Her 
Majesty  with  the  keys  of  the  city.  Then  Mr.  Pyle, 
the  Lord  Mayor,  made  a  very  feeling  address  of  wel- 
come. In  reply  she  made  the  following  touching  re- 
marks, which  I  copied  from  one  of  the  daily  papers : 

"I  come  to  this  fair  country  to  seek  a  change  and 
rest  and  to  revisit  scenes  which  recall  to  mind  the 
thought  of  losses  which  years  must  bring.  The  hap- 
piest recollections  of  the  warm-hearted  welcome 
given  to  me  and  my  beloved  husband  and  children. 
I  am  deeply  gratified  that  I  have  been  able  at  this  time 
to  see  again  the  motherland  of  these  brave  sons  who 
have  recently  borne  themselves  in  defence  of  my 
crown  and  empire  with  a  cheerful  valor  as  conspicuous 
now  as  in  their  glorious  past." 

During  her  stay  of  three  weeks  in  the  city,  the 
Queen  visited  a  number  of  charitable  institutions,  in- 
cluding the  Royal  and  Adelaide  Hospital  and  Convent 
of  Sacred  Heart  and  Masonic  School  for  girls. 
Every  pleasant  day  the  Queen  could  be  seen  riding 
out  in  Phoenix  Park  with  her  white  donkey. 


The  Queen's  Last  Visit  to  Dublin. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      139 

The  next  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  Queen  in  Dub- 
lin the  report  was  current  that  the  royal  party  would 
pass  along  Sackville  street  and  great  crowds  of  people 
thronged  this  wide  thoroughfare.  They  were  from 
all  parts  of  the  Old  Sod,  and  some  of  them  wearing 
clothing  that  had  the  appearance  of  being  the  style 
when  the  Queen  paid  her  first  visit  to  Ireland. 
Two  women  promenading  Sackvihe  street,  who  had 
been  in  this  old  world  nearly  as  long  as  the  Queen, 
attracted  the  attention  and  greatly  amused  many  of 
the  -passers-by.  They  wore  immense  hats,  trimmed 
with  flashy  ribbon  and  very  odd  looking  cloaks. 
They  clung  to  the  fashion  of  long  ago,  wearing  rather 
extensive  looking  crinoline.  They  were  pulling  in 
heavily  on  the  main  sheet  to  avoid  having  it  trail  in 
the  mud.  Their  antiquated  dress  was  drawn  so  tight 
over  the  crinoline  as  to  cause  it  to  bob  quite  vigor- 
ously. One  man,  as  he  surveyed  them,  said :  "Sure 
every  two's  a  couple." 

I  saw  a  crowd  gathered  near  the  O'Connel  bridge 
and  my  curiosity  led  me  to  go  over  and  learn  the 
cause.  A  donkey  attached  to  a  Httle  cart  had  con- 
cluded to  take  a  rest  and  had  lain  down.  A  crowd  of 
boys  were  doing  their  best  to  get  him  on  his  feet. 
They  were  lifting  from  the  head  and  centre  and  the 
rear.  But  Billy  remained  firm.  The  old  woman 
looked  the  embodiment  of  patience  as  she  sat  on  the 
produce  in  the  cart. 

"Loosen  up  this  strap,"  said  a  young  woman  as  she 
walked  up  to  the  scene  of  action.  In  obeying  orders 
they  neglected  to  take  hold  of  the  shafts  and  I  saw 
the  old  woman's  feet  going  up  along  with  the  shafts. 
We  thought  she  and  the  produce  were  about  being 


140      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

thrown  into  the  street,  but  a  man  standing  near  laid 
his  great,  brawny  hand  on  the  swift  ascending  shafts, 
just  in  time  to  save  the  old  woman  from  changing  her 
quarters. 

''Aunty,"  I  said,  ''your  donkey  does  not  seem  in- 
clined to  get  up." 

With  an  unconcerned  look  on  her  face,  she  said: 
"Well,  I  don't  know  wither  he  does  or  not." 

Finally  the  donkey  was  forced  to  his  feet  and  the 
old  woman  drove  away  amid  the  shouts  of  the  boys. 

Among  those  who  came  out  to  see  the  sights  was 
a  little,  old  man  wearing  a  low-topped  hat  which  was 
well  perforated  and  a  dilapidated  old  coat.  His 
trousers  were  tucked  inside  of  a  long  pair  of  stockings 
which  originally  were  white  but  had  gone  into  mourn- 
ing, and  corresponded  with  his  heavy  brogans.  He 
had  drank  too  frequently  to  the  Queen's  health  to 
navigate  properly  and  was  making  his  way  up  Sack- 
ville  street  against  tide.  Back  of  him  was  a  tall,  stal- 
wart looking  woman,  evidently  his  wife.  She  was 
driving  him  to  their  domicile. 

"Go  home,  wid  yees,  and  don't  be  stoppin',"  she 
said  to  him. 

The  boys  saw  the  funny  side  of  the  picture  and  be- 
gan shouting  at  him.  The  old  man  would  insist  on 
stopping  and  settling  with  the  lads  but  the  old  woman 
kept  him  on  the  move,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the 
people.  The  illuminations  in  the  evening  were  mag- 
nificent. The  Bank  of  Ireland  and  Trinity  College 
and  Custom  House  were  illuminated  with  different 
colored  electric  lights  and  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  immense  crowds  of  people  that  thronged  the 
streets.     There  was  also  a  fine  display  of  fire  works 


A  YANKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD.      141 

from  the  top  of  the  Nelson  monument.  Standing 
near  the  O'Connell  bridge  I  overheard  a  soldier  say- 
to  two  lassies :  "It's  the  Duke  of  York." 

"No,  I  think  not/'  said  one  of  the  girls.  "It's  the 
Emperor  of  Germany." 

I  soon  discovered  they  were  having  a  "bit"  of  fun 
at  my  expense.     Turning  to  them,  I  said : 

"It  is  neither  of  the  two  persons  mentioned,  but 
some  one  equally  as  good."  They  made  no  answer, 
but  I  presume  they  had  a  difference  of  opinion  about 
the  tall  Yankee  being  made  of  the  same  kind  of  clay 
as  the  two  individuals  to  whom  they  referred. 

Among  the  tide  of  humanity  I  met  in  going  over 
the  O'Connell  bridge  was  an  old  lass  well  charged 
with  whisky.  She  was  hatless  and  bare-footed,  wear- 
ing a  tattered  dress  which  was  exceedingly  brief. 
She  stepped  up  to  me  and  grasping-  my  arm,  said : 

"How  are  yees?     I  think  I'll  be  goin'  wid  ye." 

"Not  on  such  a  short  acquaintance  as  this,"  I  re- 
phed. 

Loosening  her  grasp  I  hurried  away  and  in  doing 
so  she  gave  m^e  the  length  of  her  tongue,  which  was 
far-reaching. 

The  day  the  Queen  set  apart  to  review  the  children 
in  the  Phoenix  Park,  the  old  city  was  crowded  with 
juveniles  from  all  parts  of  Ireland.  At  a  very  early 
hour  the  trams  and  vehicles  of  all  kinds  were 
crowded  with  sight-seers  making  their  way  to  the 
park.  In  company  with  a  friend  I  boarded  a  tram 
and  was  soon  mingling  with  the  crowd  in  the  park. 
We  took  our  position  and  waited  the  coming  of  the 
Queen.  On  either  side  of  this  long  driveway,  on 
which  the  review  was  to  take  place,  could  be  seen 


142  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

thousands  of  Ireland's  future  men  and  women. 
Their  ranks  were  constantly  being  swelled  by  bands 
of  children  with  banners  designating  from  what  school 
and  part  of  the  country  they  came.  Long  before  the 
appointed  time  for  the  Queen  to  leave  the  Viceregal 
Lodge  in  the  park  where  she  was  entertained,  every 
available  spot  was  taken.  Far  up  the  driveway  we 
saw  the  royal  procession  coming.  There  was  one 
sea  of  flags  and  handkerchiefs  waving  and  far  up  the 
line  we  could  hear  the  immense  crowd  cheering  lustily 
which  was  taken  up  by  others  as  the  Queen  rode  down 
along  one  side  of  the  wide  driveway.  The  royal  car- 
riage turned  to  go  back  on  the  other  side  within  a 
short  distance  of  where  we  were  standing  which  af- 
forded me  a  much  better  view  of  the  Queen  than  I 
had  at  Kingston.  There  was  a  pleased  expression 
on  the  face  of  the  good  old  Queen  as  she  passed  along 
amid  the  cheers  of  her  warm-hearted  Irish  subjects. 
It  was  estimated  there  were  52,000  children  in  the  re- 
view. 

The  last  great  event  previous  to  the  Queen  leaving 
Ireland  was  the  review  of  the  troops,  including  the 
naval  brigade  from  the  channel  fleet.  There  were 
8,000  of  her  troops  in  the  review  and  it  was  estimated 
that  it  was  witnessed  by  150,000  people.  Her  Ma- 
jesty sailed  from  Ireland  April  28th,  which  proved  to 
be  her  last  visit  to  her  loyal  subjects  on  the  Old  Sod. 
Now  the  head  that  once  wore  the  magnificent  crown 
which  I  saw  at  the  Tower  of  London  lies  low  in  the 
tomb  at  Frogmore,  but  I  think  the  Christian  world 
has  every  reason  to  beheve  by  the  life  she  lived,  she 
has  passed  into  the  presence  of  the  Great  King  of 
Kings  to  wear  a  nev^r-fading  crown, 


.,."1- 


*& 


»»»>    ■»♦, 


Belfast,  Ireland. 


Wishing  Chair,  Giants'  Causeway. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  143 


I  CHAPTER  XX. 

BELFAST. 

MS  one  sails  up  the  Belfast  Lough  which  is  joined 
near  the  city  by  the  river  Lagan,  his  ears  are 
greeted  by  the  hundreds  of  hammers  at  the 
Queen  Island  ship  and  boiler  making  and  engineering 
works  of  Harlan  &  Wolf,  which  is  said  to  be  the  larg- 
est ship  building  works  in  the  world.  They  employ 
from  7,000  to  9,000  men.  Just  a  few  days  previous 
to  my  coming  from  Glasgow  to  Belfast,  they  launched 
the  Oceanic  at  these  works.  The  passengers  crowded 
to  the  side  of  our  steamer  to  see  this,  the  largest,  craft 
afloat.  She  was  lying  at  one  of  the  docks,  being  fitted 
up  by  hundreds  of  workmen.  She  is  one  of  the  White 
Star  line  steamers  and  is  now  plying  between  New 
York  and  Liverpool.  All  the  fleet  of  this  line  were 
built  at  these  extensive  works.  One  day  I  assisted 
in  a  service  at  the  noon-day  meeting  held  in  the  large 
dining  room  at  the  works.  While  some  of  the  em- 
ployees were  attending  to  the  wants  of  the  inner  man 
we  sang  to  them  of  Him  who  gives  to  the  hungry 
ones  that  bread  that  never  perisheth.  After  they  had 
finished  their  meal  a  colored  temperance  lecturer  from 
York,  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been  engaged  in  tem- 
perance work  in  the  British  Isles  for  a  few  years,  gave 
the  men  a  short  address.  His  witty  and  quaint  re- 
marks frequently  brought  forth  a  roar  of  laughter 
frpiii  those  fun-lpving  Inshpien, 


144  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  AB-ROAD. 

"Boys,"  he  said,  "you  that  go  to  the  public  house 
and  spend  your  hard  earnings  for  strong  drink,  havn't 
as  much  sense  as  a  barn  yard  fowl,  for  they  will 
scratch  out  the  wheat  and  leave  the  chaff ;  but  you  fel- 
lows take  the  chaff  and  leave  the  wheat  with  the  pub- 
lican." Then  he  added :  "Some  folks  say  that  whisky 
is  very  strengthening.  Well,  so  it  is,  and  when  you 
get  it  for  that  purpose  buy  the  very  best,  but  the  only 
thing  it  will  strengthen  will  be  your  breath."  They 
made  the  dining-room  ring  with  laughter  at  this  re- 
mark. As  he  spun  his  witty  expressions  through  his 
brief  temperance  lecture  one  could  scarcely  decide 
whether  Irish  or  colored  wit  was  on  the  lead.    . 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Lough  is  the  extensive 
ship  yards  of  Messrs.  Clark  &  Workman,  where  sev- 
eral thousand  men  find  employment.  On  either  side 
of  the  river  Lagan  are  quays  at  which  can  be  seen 
many  large  vessels.  There  are  also  several  lines  of 
steamers  plying  between  several  points  in  England, 
Ireland  and  Scotland.  This  river  divides  the  districts 
of  Ballymacart  and  Mt.  Pottinger  from  the  city  proper 
and  winds  around  the  city,  then  on  through  a  pretty 
section  of  the  country.  It  is  not  navigable  beyond 
Belfast.  It  is  spanned  by  several  fine  bridges.  The 
principal  one  being  the  Queen's  bridge.  This  bridge 
I  shall  always  have  occasion  to  remember,  for  one  eve- 
ning in  company  with  some  friends  on  my  way  to  the 
County  Down  station  to  take  a  train  for  one  ®f  the 
suburban  towns,  just  as  I  was  crossing  the  crowded 
street  to  the  foot  path  of  this  bridge,  I  was  truck  by 
the  shaft  of  a  heavy  van  and  knocked  on  the  broad  of 
my  back.  I  found  myself  in  close  proximity  to  the 
hoofs  of  a  huge  draft  horse  which  the  driver  and  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       145 

crowd  were  trying  to  keep  from  pressing  my  tall  form 
out  of  its  normal  shape.  I  quickly  took  in  the  situ- 
ation and  rolled  away  from  the  danger  line,  and  as  I 
did  so,  received  a  complete  mud  bath.  On  regaining 
my  feet,  one  of  the  crowd  asked  me  whether  I  was  in- 
jured, and  one  of  my  friends  said  my  answer  was : 

''I'm  hurt,  but  not  killed,"  but  being  rather  dazed 
I  was  not  expected  to  give  a  very  clear  answer. 

"I  am  injured  and  am  going  back  home,"  I  said  to 
one  of  these  friends. 

"You're  not  hurt  at  all,"  he  replied,  and,  gathering 
up  my  hat,  said,  as  he  placed  it  on  my  head :  "Hurry 
along  or  we  will  miss  the  train." 

The  old  man  got  ofT  of  the  van  and  came  up  to  me 
and  said: 

"Sure,  I  did  me  best  to  keep  me  animal  from  yees." 

"Oh,  don't  distress  yourself,"  I  replied.  "It  was 
not  your  fault;  I  should  have  been  more  careful." 

On  entering  the  compartment  with  my  clothing  and 
face  profusely  decorated  with  street  mud,  I  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  the  passengers,  some  of  whom 
cast  suspicious  glances,  but  I  soon  disabused  their 
minds  of  the  idea  that  I  had  been  tripped  by  "John 
Barley  Corn."  On  my  arrival  at  the  home  of  my 
friend,  Mr.  Holden,  I  had  to  be  hauled  out  on  the  ways 
for  repairs. 

Belfast  can  boast  of  no  very  ancient  history.  In 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  a  small 
town  with  only  about  five  unattractive  little  streets, 
and  yet  it  is  spoken  of  in  history  as  being  the  great 
business  centre  of  the  North  of  Ireland,  but  it  has 
grown  from  this  humble  place  to  a  beautiful  city  of 
over  300,000  inhabitants.     Its    people    have   always 

10 


146      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

been  noted  for  their  business  tact  and  thrift.  As  one 
walks  through  its  streets,  crowded  with  many  finely 
dressed  people,  patrons  of  the  many  large  and  hand- 
some shops  that  line  these  thoroughfares,  he  at  once 
concludes  that  the  people  are  quite  up  to  date  and 
that  the  merchants  and  business  men  generally  pos- 
sess the  same  snap  and  business  tact  that  is  said  char- 
acterized their  forefathers. 

The  bank  buildings  of  Messrs.  Leidlie,  Fergurson 
&  Co.,  a  wholesale  and  retail  department  store  is  one 
of  the  finest  business  houses  in  Ireland.  Anderson 
&  McCauley,  and  Robinson  &  Cleaver,  have  also 
massive  department  stores.  Many  of  these  large  es- 
tablishments are  fitted  up  with  sleeping  apartments, 
dining  halls  and  reading  rooms  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  their  employees.  Many  of  them  coming  into 
the  city  as  strangers  find  a  comfortable  home  who 
would  otherwise  be  compelled  to  seek  one  in  some 
cheerless  boarding  house. 

There  are  many  manufacturing  places  scattered 
over  the  city.  The  York  street  flax  spinning  mills  is 
the  largest  concern  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  The 
works  occupy  an  area  of  over  four  acres  and  the  num- 
ber of  employees  is  something  over  4,000.  The 
works  contain  57,000  spindles  and  1,000  looms.  Fre- 
quently I  have  passed  these  mills  when  the  employees 
were  coming  from  work  and  found  it  rather  dif^cult 
to  stem  this  great  tide  of  humanity.  I  noticed  that 
many  of  the  women  and  girls  coming  from  this  and 
other  mills  in  the  city  were  hatless  and  bare-footed. 
I  could  scarcely  account  for  any  one  having  employ- 
ment being  in  such  a  condition.  Possibly  they  pre- 
ferred nature's  boots  to  leather  ones. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      147 

Belfast  can  also  boast  of  the  largest  rope  works  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  if  not  in  the  world.  It  covers 
upward  of  twenty  acres  in  a  number  of  one-story 
buildings.  They  have  nearly  3,000  employees.  I 
met  a  salesman  in  Belfast  whom  I  knew  very  well, 
who  was  representing  a  large  rope  manufactory  in 
Glasgow.  He  came  up  to  me  and  said,  in  his  usual 
humorous  manner: 

"I  am  selling  hanging  rope;  don't  you  want  a 
piece?" 

"Well,  no,"  I  replied,  "I  shall  not  move  out  of  mv 
old  clay  cabin  until  I  am  sent  for." 

Gallagher's  tobacco  place  is  said  to  be  the  largest 
in  the  British  Isle.  Most  of  their  tobacco  is  imported 
from  America.  Judging  from  the  great  number  of 
pipes  one  sees  in  use,  the  home  consumption  is  quite 
large.  There  are  many  other  large  places  in  the  city 
where  can  be  heard  the  hum  of  the  wheels  of  industry. 


148  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  AB'ROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

SOME  OF  THE  CHURCHES. 

BELFAST  can  well  be  called  the  '^City  of 
Churches."  There  are  128  places  of  worship 
of  various  kinds.  The  Presbyterians  are  the 
leading  denomination.  They  have  thirty-eight  places 
of  worship  and  ten  others  holding  their  principles. 
According  to  the  statistics,  they  have  a  membership 
of  94,451.  I  have  attended  several  of  their  churches 
and  most  of  them  are  quite  large  and  very  well  at- 
tended. In  attending  a  service  at  one  of  the  finest 
Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city,  I  was  surprised 
when  I  found  they  had  no  organ.  But  their  excellent 
choir  sang  beautifully  and  the  sweet  strains  filled 
every  nook  and  corner  of  that  handsome  church.  I 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  Presbyterian 
and  Methodist  clergymen  in  the  city,  and  also  came  to 
know  very  many  of  their  people,  most  of  whom  were 
very  earnest  Christians. 

The  Church  of  Ireland  (Episcopal)  has  twenty-four 
churches  and  a  membership  of  81,000.  The  Roman 
Catholics  have  ten  churches  and  number  about  80,- 
000.  The  next  in  numbers  is  the  Methodists.  They 
have  twenty-nine  places  of  worship  and  a  member- 
ship of  15,000.  The  CarHsle  Memorial  Methodist 
Church  is  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  churches  in  the 
city.  It  is  a  massive  stone  edifice  with  a  large  school 
building  attached.  There  are  three  Baptist  and  four 
Unitarian  and  one  Moravian  Church.     The  Friends 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      149 

also  have  a  large  meeting  house  and  the  Plymouth 
Brethren  have  a  nice  place  of  worship.  The  Jewish 
Synagogue  is  quite  a  fine  building.  The  Grovenor 
Hall,  a  large  Mehodist  Mission  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  Crawford  Johnson,  has  a  seating  capacity  of  3,000. 
On  Sunday  afernoons  and  evenings  is  is  usually 
crowded  with  attentive  hearers  of  the  Word.  This 
mission  has  accomplished  a  vast  amount  of  good  in 
gathering  in  a  class  of  people  that  in  all  probability 
the  churches  could  not  have  reached. 

I  attended  service  there  one  Sunday  afternoon  and 
listened  to  an  evangelist  relate  the  story  of  his  life, 
which  was  both  amusing  and  pathetic.  He  was  a  man 
with  very  little  education.  In  fact,  could  not  read  un- 
til after  his  conversion. 

'T  began  taking  strong  drink,"  he  said,  'Svhen  a 
small  boy  and  grew  up  a  wild,  reckless  youth,  and 
married  whe»  I  was  young ;  we  lived  a  wretched  life. 
I  spent  nearly  all  my  earnings  for  drink.  The  land- 
lord frequently  threatened  to  put  us  out  of  the  little 
room  in  which  we  lived.  I  told  him  that  would  be 
easily  done  for  we  had  nothing  to  put  out.  When  we 
went  to  bed  we  were  not  afraid  of  breaking  our  necks 
if  we  fell  out,  for  we  slept  on  the  floor  on  a  long 
feather  bed  (a  bundle  of  straw).  I  Avas  in  the  hands 
of  the  police  most  of  the  time  and  generally  gave  them 
lots  of  trouble  in  getting  me  to  the  lock-up.  After 
loosing  my  first  wife  I  thought  I  would  stop  drinking, 
but  kept  on  and  finally  got  married  again  and  treated 
this  wife  badly.  One  Sunday  afternoon  I  was  taking 
a  'gander'  (or  walk)  down  to  the  quays  and  in  passing 
the  custom  house  in  front  of  which  they  were  holding 
an  open  air  meeting  I  heard  the  minister  say  some- 


150      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

thing  that  caused  me  to  stop.  And  I  said,  who  has 
been  telling  that  man  about  me?  As  I  listened  to  this 
good  man  preaching  I  felt  myself  to  be  a  poor,  lost 
sinner  and  although  ignorant  of  how  to  come  to  God, 
for  I  could  not  read  and  had  never  prayed,  in  a  few 
days  I  found  the  better  life  and  soon  learned  to  read 
my  Bible.  The  people  would  like  to  call  me  Mr.  and 
me  wife  Mrs.,  but  I  won't  let  them.  Whoever  heard 
of  them  saying  in  the  Bible,  'Mr.  Peter'  or  'Mr.  Paul' 
or  'Mrs.  Mary  Magdalene.'  " 

This  remark  caused  a  ripple  of  laughter  to  pass  over 
that  large  audience. 

"Many  of  you  people  have  an  education,  but  don't 
know  anything  about  salvation.  Of  the  two,"  he 
said,  "I  would  rather  have  me  head  empty  than  me 
heart." 

I  had  some  trouble  at  times  to  keep  my  risibilities 
under  control  as  I  listened  to  this  man,  with  his  rich 
brogue,  tell  this  story,  but  was  greatly  profited  by  it. 
This  man  in  giving  his  gospel  talks  may  not  weave  in 
his  sentences  as  neatly  as  do  some  others,  yet  for  the 
past  twelve  years  he  has  gone  through  England,  Ire- 
land and  Scotland  telling  the  story  of  the  cross  in  his 
homespun  way  and  has  been  instrumental  in  leading 
very  many  from  lives  of  sin  to  the  better  one. 

Rev.  Henry  Montgomery,  one  of  Ireland's  most  in- 
fluential ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  body,  also  has  a 
large  mission  hall  on  Shankhill  road.  This  is  on  the 
site  of  a  little  mission  that  he  organized  several  years 
ago.  This  hall  is  fitted  up  expressly  for  mission 
work.  Hundreds  of  people  have  been  gathered  into 
that  building  and  being  brought  under  the  power  and 
influence  of  the  gospel  have  been  led  from  lives  of 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      151 

wickedness  to  one  of  real  joy.  He  has  what  he  styles 
"a  pleasant  Saturday  night  for  the  people."  He  ar- 
ranges entertainments  of  various  kinds  which,  judg- 
ing from  the  vast  number  that  crowd  that  large  hall, 
are  appreciated  by  the  people  of  that  densely  popu- 
lated district.  I  rendered  some  service  there  one  Sat- 
urday evening  and  when  it  was  announced  I  was  from 
near  Philadelphia,  the  boys  in  the  audience  shouted 
lustily :  "We're  off  for  Philadelphia  in  the  morning." 

Rev.  H.  Montgomery  has  quite  a  large  family. 
One  of  his  daughters  is  in  the  foreign  mission  field. 
His  excellent  wife  and  most  of  his  children  assist  him 
in  his  great  work.  He  is  a  very  busy  man,  as  he  is 
also  pastor  of  a  large  church.  There  is  a  mission 
school  connected  with  this  hall  in  which  I  saw  chil- 
dren bare-footed  and  in  tattered  garments.  A  gen- 
tleman was  telling  me  that  some  one  in  addressing 
these  children  one  afternoon,  asked  this  question: 

"When  your  father  and  mother  forsakes  you,  who 
takes  you  up?"  One  of  these  little  street  arabs 
shouted,  "The  perliceman,  sir."  That  no  doubt  had 
been  the  boy's  experience  and  the  shelter  given  them 
by  the  police  was  far  preferable  to  what  the  drunken 
father  and  mother  provided.  One  little  fellow  said  to 
a  friend  of  mine,  as  he  came  out  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
hall  one  cold  night : 

"Will  yees  buy  me  matches?" 

"No,  I  don't  need  them,"  the  man  replied. 

After  the  bare-footed  boy  had  urged  him  to  buy 
them  and  failed  to  make  a  sale,  the  boy  thought  he 
would  try  quoting  Scripture.  He  looked  up  into  my 
friend's  face  and  said :  "The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd, 
but  I  does  want."     He  sold  his  matche;?. 


152  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  have  a 
fine,  large  building  and  a  very  large  membership.  It 
has  two  halls;  the  largest  one  has  a  seating  capacity 
of  2,000  which,  at  the  Sunday  afternoon  meetings  is 
crowded.  I  have  seen  the  card  out  with  the  notice, 
''Hall  full,"  and  a  great  crowd  of  people  outside  anx- 
ious to  gain  admission.  They  have  a  very  interesting 
service  there  every  Sabbath  afternoon.  The  secre- 
tary, who  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  bachelor's  of 
long  standing,  is  well  adapted  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work. 
He  went  to  the  seat  of  war  in  South -Africa  while  I 
was  in  Belfast,  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Boers, 
but  to  try  and  induce  the  Queen's  brave  lads  to  also 
enlist  in  the  army  of  the  ''Great  King  of  Kings"  and 
fight  against  the  Prince  of  the  Power  of  Darkness. 
The  night  previous  to  his  leaving  he  spent  the  eve- 
ning at  the  home  of  one  of  Belfast's  highly  respected 
citizens,  whose  son  had  enlisted  in  the  "Imperial  Yeo- 
manry" and  had  gone  to  the  front. 

"What  shall  I  bring  you  from  South  Africa  when  I 
return?"  said  the  secretaiT"  to  the  good  lady  of  the 
house. 

"Oh,  bring  me  back  my  son,  is  all  I  ask,"  was  her 
reply.  Her  remark  deeply  affected  the  entire  com- 
pany. 

Only  a  short  time  after  the  departure  of  the  secre- 
tary for  that  far-off  country,  death  entered  that  ele- 
gant home  and  laid  his  cold  hand  on  that  excellent 
Christian  wife  and  mother.  The  day  I  saw  that  large 
concourse  of  people  follow  her  remains  to  the  ceme- 
tery her  boy  was  killed  at  Lindley  by  one  of  the  Boer 
sharp  shooters  and  his  tall,  handsome  form  was  hid- 
den away  beneath  the  sands  of  South  Africa,  making 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       153 

the  cloud  hanging  over  that  once  happy  home  all  the 
darker.  The  trooper-boy  and  his  mother  will  meet 
no  more  on  the  Green  Isle,  but  have  met  on  a  hap- 
pier shore  where  love's  golden  links  can  never  be 
broken. 

The  following  is  taken  from  'Trish  Manhood:" 

"On  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  South  Africa  our 
beloved  General  Secretary  was  on  a  visit  to  the  house 
of  a  well-known  Belfast  gentleman,  who  has  a  son 
serving  Queen  and  country  with  the  Imperial  Yeo- 
manry at  the  seat  of  war.  'What  shall  I  bring  you 
back  on  my  return?'  asked  Mr.  Black  of  the  lady  of 
the  house  ere  saying  the  last  farewell.  Straight  from 
the  mother's  heart  came  the  answer — 'Bring  me  back 
my  son.'  The  touching  incident  suggested  the  fol- 
lowing lines,  which  will  be  read  with  deep  and  pa- 
thetic interest  by  our  entire  membership.  The 
writer,  Mr.  C.  J.  Butler,  of  America,  recently  con- 
ducted a  successful  Gospel  mission  in  connection  with 
the  Dublin  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  during  a  brief  visit  to 
this  city  addressed  meetings  in  the  Albert  Hall,  Shank- 
hill  Road.  Mr.  Butler  is  the  author  of  the  famihar 
and  much-used  hymn,  T  was  once  far  away  from  the 
Savior:'" 

"  BRING  ME  BACK  MY  SON." 

"One  of  old  England's  no'ble  sons, 

Was  bound  for  Afric's  golden  strand, 
His  mission  was  to  suffering  ones, 

Mid  scenes  of  carnage  in  that  land. 
He  said  to  one  whose  son  so  brave 

Had  gone  forth  at  his  countr3r's  call, 
What  gift  dost  thou  from  Afric  crave? 

Bring  back  my  son,  she  said,  is  all. 


154  A  YANKEE  BiACHELOR  ABROAD. 

■   ^     h 

"Then  to  the  father  said  in  turn, 

What  treasure  shall  I  bring  to  thee? 
My  boy,  he  said,  o'er  whom  I  yearn; 

He's  more  than  all  earth's  gold  to   me. 
I  on  my  country's  altar  laid 

My  cherished  ^one,  my  pride  and  joy, 
This  is  the  gift  I  ask,  he  said. 

Oh,  'bring  me  back  my  trooper  boy. 

"Oh,  sisters  who  in'  silence  weep 

For  him  in  danger  far  away. 
Bright  gems  from  o'er  the  stormy  deep 

Shall  I  bring  you  some  distant  day? 
No,  when  sweet  peace,  the  w*hite-winged  dove. 

Is  seen  o'er  Afric's  wide  domain, 
Bring  back  the  one  we  fondly  love, 

To  home,  and  loving  ones  again. 

"Oh,  maiden  in  love's  happy  dream, 

Would' St  thou  have  diamonds  rich   and  rare, 
That  sparkle  like  the  bright  sunbeam, 

To  deck  thy  form,  oh,  maiden  fair? 
No,  these  would  be  'but  dross  to  me, 

And,  without  him  would  give  no  joy, 
Oh,  bring  me  back,  across  the  sea, 

The  one  I  love,  my  trooper  boy. 


"A  SWEET  RE-UNION" 
"From  Afric's  strand  sped  o'er  the  main 

A  message  fraught  with  midnight  gloom. 
'Your  trooper  hoy  is  with  the  slain. 

And  sleeps  now  in  his  rude  made  tomb.' 
His  mother's  spirit  too,  had  flown, 

To  yonder  world  of  peace  and  joy, 
Where  hearts  will  ne'er  grow  sad  and  lone. 

She  welcomed  home  her  trooper  boy." 

Belfast  has  several  large  colleges  and  halls  of  learn- 
ing, and  there  are  about  200  national  schools,  twenty 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      155 

of  them  being  under  the  direction  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
oHcs,  and  the  others  under  the  different  Protestant 
denominations.  I  visited  one  of  these  schools  and 
just  before  the  principal  introduced  me,  he  asked  the 
children  if  they  had  ever  heard  of  America.  They  all 
shouted,  ''Yis,  sir." 

"Well,"  he  said,  ''this  gentleman  is  from  that  far- 
off  country."  They  looked  at  me  as  though  they 
thought  the  lads  in  America  reached  a  great  height, 
as  well  as  many  of  those  in  Old  Ireland. 

He  catecised  them  on  several  subjects.  One  of 
them  was  the  war  in  South  Africa.  Their  answers 
gave  abundant  proof  of  them  being  well  informed  as 
to  the  names  of  the  generals  and  of  their  movements. 

"Was  England  ever  whipped?"  he  asked. 

"Yis,  sir,"  shouted  a  little,  rosy-faced  boy. 

"Well,  who  did  it?" 

"America,"  the  boy  replied. 

"Well,  do  you  think  these  two  great  nations  would 
ever  engage  in  war  with  each  other  again?"  he  asked. 

"No,  sir,"  they  all  shouted  in  a  very  high  key. 

"Well,  why?" 

"Because,  sir,  we're  cousins,"  said  the  rosy-faced 
boy. 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "that  is  true,  and  while  we  might  have 
our  little  family  jars,  yet  I  scarcely  think  we  will  ever 
come  to  blows  which,  if  we  did,  would  be  disastrous 
to  both  countries." 

As  one  sees  the  number  of  charitable  institutions 
and  finely-equipped  hospitals  in  Belfast  he  at  once 
concludes  that  the  people  of  this  city  have  an  abund- 
ance of  the  "milk  of  human  kindness."  I  visited  the 
old  hospital  on  Fredrick  street,  which  was  erected  in 


156  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

1 817,  and  in  passing  through  the  different  wards 
where  the  sufferers  were  being  so  kindly  cared  for,  I 
was  more  fully  convinced  than  ever  that  these  institu- 
tions were  an  untold  blessing  to  the  world.  The 
municipal  buildings  are  quite  large  and  are  built  of 
brick  and  sand  stone,  the  interior  of  which  is  finely 
finished.  The  city  government  consists  of  the  Lord 
Mayor,  who  is  elected  once  a  year,  and  councilmen 
who  are  elected  every  three  years,  and  aldermen  every 
six  years.  The  present  building  has  proven  inade- 
quate for  the  city  and  they  are  erecting  a  massive 
building  which  will  be  quite  an  ornament  to  the  city. 
The  adjoining  suite  of  buildings  is  the  Magistrate's 
Courts  and  constabulary  and  detective  offices  and 
city  lock-up.  One  day  in  passing  this  building  in 
company  with  some  friends  I  saw  them  drive  up  with 
a  wayward  sister  very  much  the  worse  for  strong 
drink.  Seated  beside  her  on  the  Irish  jaunting  car 
was  a  huge  policeman.  She  seemed  to  have  enjoyed 
the  ride  and  objected  to  getting  off  the  car,  but  the 
policeman  insisted  on  her  changing  her  quarters  and 
led  her  into  the  office  and  introduced  her  to  the 
magistrate.  We  followed  hard  after  them,  but  had 
scarcely  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  door  when  one 
of  the  officers  said,  with  his  heavy  brogue:  "Yees 
must  go  out." 

One  of  my  friends  said  to  him :  "This  gentleman  is 
from  America  and  wishes  to  remain  a  little  while,  and 
then  look  through  the  other  part  of  the  building." 

''You  can  do  so,  with  pleasure,"  he  replied. 

There  was  another  woman  who  had  taken  a  ''wee 
drap  of  the  crater"  and  was  about  being  committed 
by  the  magistrate.     She  was  trying  to  convince  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       157 

police  that  her  spinal  chord  was  severed,  but  he 
thought  otherwise  and  led  her  out  to  the  cell.  As 
he  did  so  she  walked  far  back  on  her  heels  and  said, 
"Me  back's  broke." 

"Here  comes  a  woman  with  a  broken  back,"  said 
the  police  to  the  officer  in  charge.  "Take  her  to  the 
hospital,"  he  said,  with  a  vein  of  humor  in  his  remark. 

She  straightened  up  and  said,  "I'll  be  taken  yees 
there." 

"Oh,  bring  her  along;  she  talks  well  for  a  woman 
with  a  broken  back,"  said  the  officer. 

When  they  brought  the  other  woman  to  the  cell 
she  was  reasoning  the  case  with  the  pohce. 

"I'm  not  drunk.  Let  me  go  home  to  the  children," 
she  remarked.  But  the  proof  was  strong  against  her. 
They  gave  her  quarters  with  the  other  sister,  and*  as 
they  closed  the  door  she  shook  it  violently  and 
shrieked  and  shouted,  "Let  me  out  of  this!"  She 
ran  her  arms  through  the  apperture  in  the  door  and 
said  to  me:  "Have  yees  any  marcy?  If  yees  have, 
take  me  out  of  this." 

"Have  yees  any  children  of  yer  own?  If  yees  have, 
take  me  out  and  let  me  go  home  to  my  children." 
She  was  appealing  to  the  wrong  one  for  parental 
sympathy,  and  it  took  shillings  instead  of  mercy  to 
open  the  prison  door,  so  we  left  her  begging  for  lib- 
erty. 

"That  is  rather  a  wild  character,"  I  remarked  to  the 
officer. 

"Oh,  she  is  tame  to  some  we  will  have  by  mid- 
night," he  said. 

One  of  the  poUce  kindly  offered  to  take  us  through 
their  quarters,  which  we  found  fitted  up  very  comfort- 


158      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ably.  This  officer  was  a  tall,  fine  looking  fellow.  He 
said :  "1  am  the  champion  lifter  of  Belfast,"  and  then 
wishing  to  demonstrate  his  ability  gathered  up  a  huge 
weight  and  held  it  out  at  arm's  length  with  seeming 
ease. 

As  he  set  it  down  he  clinched  his  fist  and  remarked, 
^'I  seldom  use  my  baton  on  a  man;  I  usually  bring 
him  to  terms  with  that."  As  I  looked  at  his  huge  fist 
I  concluded  that  I  would  not  attempt  to  use  any  re- 
sisance  if  that  fellow  took  hold  of  me. 

"There  is  a  noted  character,"  he  added;  ''that  is 
under  arrest  most  of  the  time.  His  head  is  so  bat- 
tered up  that  it  is  one  grand  scar.  I  usually  bring 
him  without  blood  shed." 

These  officers  are  all  members  of  the  constabulary 
and  are  picked  men  from  different  parts  of  Ireland. 
This  officer  was  one  of  Tipperary's  tall  sons. 

The  main  office  and  station  of  the  Fire  Brigade  is 
near  by.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  complete  in 
the  United  Kingdom.  Their  steamers  and  apparatus 
are  all  up-to-date.  They  also  have  a  finely  drilled 
ambulance  corps.  Back  of  the  building  is  a  court 
yard,  around  which  are  the  homes  of  the  firemen  who 
have  families. 

There  are  also  very  comfortable  quarters  for  the 
lads  who  have  never  found  the  partner  of  their  Hfe. 
On  coming  out  of  this  building  I  met  the  Rechabite 
parade.  Several  hundred  of  Ireland's  sons  and 
daughters  were  in  line.  They  were  accompanied  by 
several  brass  bands.  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  this  tem- 
perance organization  was  increasing  in  numbers.  If 
every  son  and  daughter  of  Erin  would  take  on  them 
this  vow  the  brewers  and  distillers  would  have  to  give 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      159 

Up  business  and  the  bulk  of  Ireland's  trouble  would 
be  at  an  end. 

The  residential  portion  of  the  city  contains  very 
many  splendid  homes,  most  of  them  surrounded  by 
beautifully  laid-out  grounds.  These  homes  are  proof 
that  the  occupants  have  succeeded  in  gathering  an 
abundance  of  shekels  and  that  their  checks  would  be 
honored  at  one  or  more  of  the  many  substantial  banks 
of  the  city.  |      ^  * 

Belfast  is  the  most  American  like  city  that  I  visited. 
As  one  walks  its  streets  he  can  scarcely  realize  that  he 
is  3,000  miles  from  the  United  States  of  America. 
The  red  brick  houses  built  in  rows  strikingly  resem- 
ble an  American  city.  Belfast  is  far  behind  Dublin 
and  many  other  cities  in  the  United  Kingdom  in  her 
street  car  system,  or  trams,  as  they  style  them.  The 
antiquated  horse  cars  are  still  in  use,  but  this  is  owing 
to  the  company's  charter  expiring  soon,  after  which 
the  city  corporation  expect  to  operate  the  lines,  and 
the  company  will  not  go  to  the  expense  of  introduc- 
ing the  electric  trams.  The  street  cars  and  omnibuses 
have  additional  seats  arranged  on  top  and  the  cars 
are  not  supposed  to  carry  more  passengers  than  can  be 
seated.  In  the  Belfast  trams  can  be  seen  this  unique 
notice  : 

"Spitting  in  the  trams  is  a  filthy  habit.  Any  one 
committing  this  offence  will  render  themselves  liable 
to  the  disgust  and  loathing  of  their  fellow  passengers." 

On  the  outside  of  the  car  is  this  gentle  reminder  to 
men  who  are  given  to  crowding  into  the  trams  ahead 
of  women  and  children.     It  reads  as  follows : 

''Life  Saving  Rules. — Women  and  children  first." 

On   paying   the    fare   the    passengers    receive    a 


i6o  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

punched  ticket  which  they  are  supposed  to  retain  un- 
til the  inspector  boards  the  car  and  requests  to  see 
them. 

There  are  several  beautiful  little  parks  in  and 
around  the  city.  The  botanical  gardens  are  in  a  very 
pretty  part  of  the  city  and  are  nicely  laid  out  and  con- 
tain many  choice  plants  and  flowers. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      i6i 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

MY  RETURN  TO  BELFAST. 

FFTER  a  trip  to  Dublin  and  through  England, 
I  returned  to  Belfast  and  remained  several 
months.  Shortly  after  I  was  introduced  to 
the  mother  of  the  gentleman  where  I  lodged,  she  said : 
^'Why,  he  is  a  very  homely  man,"  referring  to  me.  I 
should  not  have  felt  very  highly  complimented  had  I 
not  known  the  term  was  applied  differently  in  Ireland 
than  in  America.  There  it  has  no  reference  to  the 
undesirable  looking  face  that  one  might  unfortunately 
possess,  but  it  means  a  very  plain,  domestic  person. 

It  was  difficult  sometimes  to  fit  some  of  their  ex- 
pressions where  I  was  accustomed  to  place  them. 
One  day  in  Canterbury,  England,  in  company  with  a 
friend  I  called  at  a  house  and  in  the  course  of  conver- 
sation I  was  surprised  at  one  expression  he  used. 
''How  is  your  son?"  he  inquired  of  the  gentleman. 
''He  was  a  bit  queer  when  I  was  here  last." 

I  at  once  thought  the  lad's  mental  furniture  was  dis- 
arranged, but  in  further  conversation  I  learned  the 
young  man  was  in  poor  health.  On  coming  from  the 
house,  I  said  to  my  friend :  "You  have  a  strange  way 
of  putting  things  as  well  as  we  Yankees."  He 
laughed  heartily  when  I  told  him  how  I  understood 
his  term. 

Little  Jim,  a  rosy-faced,  intelligent  boy,  who  was 
an  orphan  and  who  lived  with  Mrs.  D — 's  sister,  came 
around  every  morning  to  know  if  she  had  any  mes- 


II 


i62      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

sages  she  wanted  done  (or  errands).  Sometimes  in 
giving  him  her  grocery  order  she  would  tell  him  to 
get  a  half  stone  of  potatoes. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  I  asked  one  morn- 
ing. 

"Why,  they  sell  potatoes  by  the  weight,"  she  re- 
plied.    "Fourteen  pounds  is  a  stone." 

To  me  it  seemed  a  very  strange  order  to  give. 
Apples  and  tomatoes  are  also  sold  by  the  pound. 

While  the  home  where  I  lodged  wasjiot  one  of  the 
fine  mansions  of  the  city,  yet  it  was  a  comfortable 
home-like  place.  This  woman  was  the  real  essence 
of  kindness  and  made  my  stay  very  pleasant.  She 
had  passed  through  considerable  sorrow,  having  lost 
her  husband  and  shortly  afterward  one  of  her  sons 
was  drowned,  and  closely  following  that  bereavement 
her  eldest  son  was  accidentally  shot  and  died  in  a  few 
days.  She  had  scarcely  rallied  from  that  great  shock 
when  her  only  daughter,  a  very  promising  young 
woman,  was  stricken  down  with  disease  and  left  the 
old  home.  Sometimes  on  coming  into  the  house  I 
would  find  her  in  tears,  but  she  would  soon  brush 
them  away  and  pass  out  wit  and  fun  in  abundance. 
She  had  four  sons  living,  of  whom  any  mother  could 
well  be  proud.  One  day  as  she  stood  in  the  door 
way,  two  men  repairing  the  pipes  in  front  of  the 
house,  said  to  her  on  seeing  me  in  the  parlor : 

"Tell  that  mon  to  send  us  out  the  price  of  a  drink." 

"He  does  not  believe  in  strong  drink,"  she  replied. 

"Well,  thin,  tell  him  to  give  us  the  scud  of  a 
prayer,"  one  of  them  said.  It  occurred  to  me  it 
would  take  more  than  a  scud  of  a  prayer  to  lift  from 
those  lads  the  desire  for  a  wee  drap. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      163 

"Mother,  pull  the  curtain  down,"  said  her  son  one 
evening;  "some  one  will  be  stealing  you  sometime." 

"Any  one  seeing  me  in  the  daylight  would  not  be 
climbing  over  the  garden  wall  after  me  at  night,"  she 
replied. 

I  became  acquainted  with  several  very  fine  fam- 
ilies in  this  and  other  sections  of  the  city  and  spent 
many  pleasant  evenings  with  them  in  their  homes. 
Some  of  these  domiciles  were  large  and  furnished 
very  elaborately  and  others  were  humble  little  places, 
but  the  warm-hearted  hospitality  was  the  same  in 
one  as  the  other. 

One  evening  we  attended  a  church  fair  a  short  dis- 
tance from  my  lodgings.  Over  the  door  of  the 
church  the  Union  Jack  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were 
blending  very  harmoniously,  and  the  interior  was  very 
tastefully  trimmed  with  bunting  and  flags,  "Old 
Glory"  being  conspicuous  in  the  decorations  which 
made  the  affair  seem  quite  American-like.  The  fair 
was  conducted  in  a  similar  manner  to  those  I  have  at- 
tended in  "Yankee  Land."  The  young  ladies  at  the 
tables  with  various  articles  for  sale  were  just  as  per- 
sistent in  exchanging  these  articles  for  cash  as  are 
Uncle  Sam's  daughters.  I  was  besieged  with  children 
selling  "bottles  of  scent"  and  trinklets  of  different 
kinds  who,  for  ability  to  leave  their  goods  with  one 
and  carry  away  his  loose  change,  equalled  "Young 
America."  I  became  very  well  acquainted  with  the 
pastor  of  this  church,  who  was  one  of  the  most  earn- 
est Christian  ministers  that  I  met  in  my  travels. 


i64  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD, 


CHAPTER  XXin. 

SOME  WITTY  BOYS  I  MET. 

I  BECAME  very  much  interested  in  a  great  many 
of  the  boys  on  the  street,  and  frequently  I  would 
stop  and  have  a  conversation  with  them,  and 
found  most  of  them  very  bright  and  witty.  I  was 
standing  at  the  Castle  Junction  one  evening  waiting 
for  a  Lisburn  road  car,  when  one  of  these  news-boys, 
bare-footed  and  poorly  dressed,  ran  up  to  me  and 
shouted:  ''Sixth  edition!  Full  account  of  the  bom- 
bardment of  Hell  street." 

"Oh,  I  am  not  interested  in  that  locality,"  I  replied. 
"I  am  trying  to  behave  so  I  can  go  to  the  better  coun- 
try." 

"Well,  I'm  not;  I'm  goin'  down.  I  go  down  an 
inch  and  quarter  every  day,"  he  replied,  as  he  winked 
his  eye  to  another  boy  of  the  same  stripe. 

A  little  red-haired,  speckled-faced  boy  standing 
near  said,  as  he  looked  up  into  my  face  with  his  eyes 
sparkling  with  mischief :  "I'm  goin'  up,  too,  sir." 

"Well,  whin  yees  does  it  will  be  wid  a  rope  'round 
yer  neck,"  said  the  witty  news-boy. 

"You  can't  get  far  ahead  of  these  street  arabs,"  I 
remarked  to  a  man  standing  beside  me. 

"It's  not  worth  your  while  trying,"  he  repHed,  and 
further  remarked :  "One  cold  night  I  was  waiting  here 
for  a  tram  and  two  bare-footed  news-boys  were  teas- 
ing each  other  about  the  size  of  their  feet.  One  of 
them  said :  'Lem,  how  do  yees  keep  yer  feet  warm?' 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      165 

"  'Och,  sure,  and  I  stands  on  me  toes,'  was  his  reply. 

''  'Well,  sure,'  said  the  other  urchin,  'and  it  must  be 
a  queer  height  yees  are  whin  yees  stands  on  yer  toes.'  " 

"Where  did  you  get  your  shoes?"  I  said  to  a  bare- 
footed boy  one  day. 

''Och,  sure,  sir,  God  gave  them  to  me;  they  cost 
me  nothin'  and  their  goin'  to  last  me  a  queer  while," 
was  his  quick  reply.  "Say,"  he  added,  "can't  yees 
set  me  up  in  business?     I'm  a  bit  short  to-day." 

"You  seem  to  be  so  every  time  I  meet  you,"  I  re- 
plied. 

"Och,  I  have  money  sometimes,  but  I'm  badly  on 
the  rocks  to-day." 

"Well,  how  much  do  you  require?"  I  asked. 

"A  penny,  sir,  will  buy  me  matches  enough  to  start 
with,"  he  replied.  On  meeting  him  shortly  after- 
ward, found  him  pushing  his  business  briskly.  A 
boy  ran  up,  wearing  a  pair  of  corduroy  trousers  with 
material  enough  in  them  for  two  pairs.  He  was 
bare-footed,  having  an  accumulation  of  mother  earth 
on  his  hands  and  feet  and  a  fair  sprinkling  on  his  face. 
He  shouted,  "Buy  matches,  sir?" 

"What  use  would  I  have  for  them?"  I  replied. 

"Och,  to  light  yer  pipe  wid,"  was  his  reply. 

"I  don't  smoke." 

"Light  the  fire  wid  'em,  then." 

"I  have  no  occasion  to  do  that." 

"Take  them,  ony  way." 

"No,  I  don't  want  them." 

"Thank  yees  for  the  change,"  he  said,  playfully. 

"Is  water  scarce  at  your  house?"  I  inquired  of  him. 

"It  is,  sir." 


i66      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"It  would  be  a  great  surprise  if  you  came  in  touch 
with  it,"  I  said. 

''It  would,  sir;  water  and  I  had  a  fallin'  out  some- 
time ago,"  he  replied. 

''Have  you  room  in  your  pocket  for  this  purse?"  I 
asked  as  I  was  purchasing  a  paper. 

"I  have,  sir,"  he  repHed.  Then  gathering  hold  of 
each  side  of  his  immense  trousers,  said:  "And  I've 
rooms  to  let  in  the  old  pants,  too,  sir." 

I  usually  received  the  ready  change  from  that  boy. 

"Last  edition"!  Full  account  of  the  war!"  shouted 
a  boy  as  he  ran  up  to  me  one  day  on  Royal  avenue. 

"Where  is  the  war?"  I  asked  with  seeming  surprise. 

"In  South  Africa;  didn't  yees  know  it?"  he  replied 
as  he  scanned  me  closely. 

"What  are  they  fighting  about?"  I  inquired. 

"Sure,  sir,  their  fightin'  about  the  gold  mines,"  he 
said,  as  he  ran  off  down  the  street.  That  was  the 
opinion  of  very  many  others  of  riper  years. 

Another  boy  came  on  the  top  of  the  tram  one  day, 
shouting  the  war  news.  "Is  Kruger  dead?"  I  asked 
of  him. 

"No,  sir,  he's  not  dead ;  but,  sure,  it's  time  he  was," 
he  said,  as  he  took  up  the  cry  again,  "Last  edition !" 

Two  ragged,  bare-footed  urchins  ran  up  to  me  and 
wanted  to  carry  my  luggage.  "Now  look  at  the  size 
of  me ;  don't  you  think  I  am  better  able  to  carry  it  than 
you?"  I  said  to  them. 

They  looked  up  into  my  face  and  said :  "Yes,  sir, 
yees  are,  but  we  wants  to  make  some  pennies." 

"Is  your  father  and  mother  living?" 

"Yes,  sir,  but  they  both  gets  drunk  and  sends  us  out 
to  beg,  and  if  we  goes  home  widout  pinnies,  sure  they 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  167 

bate  us.  Sometimes  whin  we  don't  have  money  we 
sleeps  in  the  boxes  on  the  quays."  They  were  very 
bright,  little  fellows  and  they  had  my  sympathy. 

I  thought,  while  walking  along,  conversing  with 
them,  that  those  with  heavy  bank  accounts  who  are 
charitably  disposed  could  not  invest  their  surplus 
change  better  than  by  lifting  such  children  from  their 
evil,  surroundings  and  placing  them  under  good  in- 
fluences where  they  would  receive  an  education  and  a 
Christian  training.  Many  of  them  doubtless  would 
grow  up  and  prove  a  blessing  to  the  world. 

''Carry  your  luggage?"  said  a  red-haired,  freckled- 
faced  boy  as  I  alighted  from  a  tram  one  day. 

"Yes,  you  can,"  I  said.  "I  am  going  to  that  build- 
ing just  beyond."  He  gathered  up  my  grip  and  was 
soon  joined  by  another  boy  of  the  same  stripe.  They 
conversed  in  a  low  tone  of  voice  and  seemed  to  be 
concocting  some  plan  to  get  the  best  of  me.  Upon 
reaching  my  destination,  I  gave  the  boy  two  pence, 
thinking  it  was  a  fair  sum.  He  turned  his  decorated 
face  up  to  me  and  said :  "Yees  said  yees  would  give  me 
three  pence." 

''I  did  not  mention  the  amount." 

''Yees  did,  and  I'll  be  after  takin'  it  back  where  I 
got  it,"  he  replied,  as  he  took  hold  of  my  grip. 

"You  will  be  taking  yourself  out  of  here  with  your 
two  pence,"  I  said.  He  and  the  other  lad  went  out 
chuckling. 

Three  boys  attired  in  clothing  having  the  appear- 
ance of  being  worn  for  several  generations  were  per- 
forming gymnastics  one  day  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  patrons 
of  the  restaurant  connected  with  that  institution.     As 

..•  ^  i 


i68      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

they  stood  on  their  heads  their  huge  trousers  left  their 
soiled  legs  exposed,  and  as  their  ancient  coats  fell  in 
graceful  folds  all  about  them,  I  joined  in  the  laugh 
as  I  saw  this  comic  picture. 

'Were  your  clothes  made  to  order?"  asked  one  of 
the  spectators. 

A  woman  scrubbing  the  hall  floor  turned  to  him 
and  said :  ''No,  but  they  were  made  when  the  boys 
were  in  good  health."  One  would  think  they  had  lost 
considerable  flesh. 

One  of  the  boys  came  up  to  me  and  said :  "Say,  take 
us  out  and  get  us  some  new  trousers,  will  yees?"  But 
getting  these  boys  new  trousers  meant  having  them 
in  the  pawn  shop  as  soon  as  their  parents  laid  their 
hands  on  them,  and  the  money  would  have  soon  been 
dropped  in  the  till  of  the  publican.  The  day  I  left^ 
Belfast,  one  of  these  street  arabs  came  up  to  me  and 
began  a  conversation.  Finally,  I  said  to  him :  "Son, 
I  have  no  change  for  you  to-day." 

I  misunderstood  the  boy's  motive  in  coming  with 
me.  "Oh,  sir,"  he  said,  "it's  not  money  I'm  after.  I 
just  wanted  to  talk  wid  ye."  He  was  a  very  intelli- 
gent boy  and  listened  attentively  as  I  gave  him  some 
good  advice.  A  group  of  these  boys  saw  me  on  the 
top  of  the  tram  as  I  was  going  to  the  railway  station 
and,  waving  their  hands,  shouted:  "Good-bye  to 
yees." 

"Say,  mister,  put  me  in  yer  pocket  and  take  me  to 
Ameriky  with  yer,"  said  a  boy  to  me  in  a  Sunday 
school  class  that  I  was  attempting  to  teach : 

"Don't  yer  be  doin'  it;  he'll  be  botherin'  ye  for 
bread,"  another  boy  remarked. 

"Och,  I  would  rather  be  goin'   out  to   shoot  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      169 

Boers  than  goin'  to  Ameriky,"  said  another  bundle  of 
mischief.  It  was  as  difficult  to  find  the  sober  side 
of  these  Irish  boys  as  it  was  a  class  of  boys  I  taught  in 
my  own  school  in  America,  who  had  brought  peanuts 
with  them  and  insisted  on  eating  them  and  throwing 
the  shells  on  the  floor. 

^'Don't  do  that,"  I  said. 

"Oh,  here's  my  hat;  put  them  in  that,"  remarked  a 
boy,  as  he  placed  his  hat  in  the  floor.  The  boys  soon 
began  pelting  it  with  peanut  shells. 

"Boys,  where  are  you?"  I  asked. 

"In  church,"  a  boy  replied,  as  he  munched  on  his 
peanuts. 

"Well,  how  do  you  think  you  should  behave  in  the 
house  of  God?" 

"Oh,  better  than  we  are  behavin',  I  suppose,"  said 
one  of  them. 

Thinking  to  remind  them  of  the  great  reverence 
showTL  by  the  Catholic  children  for  their  places  of  wor- 
ship and  schools,  I  said  to  them :  "You  know  how  the 
little  Catholic  boys  enter  their  church  and  schools." 

'Well,  I  don't  know  how  they  go  in,"  said  a  boy, 
"but  I  know  how  they  come  out,  for  I  saw  a  boy  the 
other  day  coming  out  of  the  window  with  one  of  the 
sisters  after  him." 

The  boys  had  me  completely  side-tracked,  but  I 
made  another  effort  to  gain  the  main  track : 

"Boys,"  I  said,  "what  does  that  word  habit  mean?" 

"It  means  doin'  something  you  can't  help,"  a  boy 
replied,  and  then  shifting  his  quid  of  peanuts  said,  "I 
have  a  habit  of  eatin'  and  can't  help  it."  In  spite  of 
my  effort  to  refrain,  I  joined  with  the  boys  in  laugh- 
ing at  this  remark. 


170      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Finally  I  said  to  them :  *'Boys,  do  you  want  to  hear 
a  story?" 

'*Yes,"  they  replied,  *'if  you  know  anything  about  it 
yourself,"  and  added :  "We  don't  want  to  hear  any- 
thing you  have  heard  or  read." 

I  quickly  sorted  over  my  bundle  of  original 
stories  and  passed  out  one  that  struck  the  sober  side 
of  them.  I  resorted  to  the  same  method  for  this 
class  of  Irish  boys  and  found  it  worked  nicely. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  171 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SOME  SAD  AS  WELL  AS  AMUSING  SIGHTS. 

BURING  my  stay  in  Belfast,  I  saw  many  sad  as 
well  as  amusing  sights.  It  was  a  common 
thing  to  see  women  and  children  in  the  streets 
bare-footed,  even  in  the  mid-winter.  As  I  saw  wo- 
men with  whitened  locks  and  bent  with  age  tramping 
along  the  streets  shoeless  and  half  clad,  I  wondered 
being  so  exposed  how  they  managed  to  tarry  so  long 
in  this  old  world.  The  most  of  them  were  "in  this 
condition  because  they  preferred  to  patronize  the  pub- 
lic house  instead  of  the  merchant. 

One  day  while  conversing  with  a  policeman,  an  old 
woman  came  across  the  street,  putting  her  bare  feet 
down  very  gently  on  the  rough  cobbles,  and  made 
her  way  into  one  of  the  saloons.  "That  is  a  pitable 
sight,"  I  said,  in  calling  his  attention  to  the  old  wo- 
man. 

"Oh,  there  are  lots  of  those  old  creatures  about  the 
city,"  he  replied.  We  find  them  quite  often  of  a  cold 
night  lying  on  the  door-steps,  and  send  them  to  the 
almshouse." 

One  day  I  met  one  of  these  old  women  on  the 
streets.     She  said :  "Have  yees  anything  to  give  me?" 

"No,  aunty,"  I  repHed. 

"Well,  ye  may  have  to-morrow  if  I  meet  yees,"  she 
said,  shifting  the  little  soiled  bundle  she  carried  un- 
der her  arm. 

"Where  do  you  live?"  I  inquired  of  her. 


172      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

''Och,  sure/'  she  replied,  ^'sometimes  in  the  poor- 
house  and  sometimes  out." 

"Which  do  you  prefer?" 

''Sure'n,  I  loike  me  Hberty,"  she  replied,  and  added : 
"Och,  well,  they  give  yees  a  good  fire  to  set  beside, 
but  I  don't  loike  their  mate." 

"Well,  poor  meat  is  better  than  none,"  I  remarked. 

"That's  true,  sir,"  she  said,  "but  I  loike  me  liberty 
better." 

A  lady  was  telling  me  of  her  father.  In  passing  an 
old  woman  begging  on  the  street  he  put  his  .hand  in 
his  pocket  as  though  he  meant  to  give  her  something. 

"May  good  luck  follow  ye,"  she  said,  and  when  he 
failed  to  contribute,  she  shouted,  "And  niver  over- 
take yees." 

Many  of  these  old  creatures,  if  you  fail  to  respond, 
have  a  way  of  quickly  untieing  their  blessing  and 
hurling  a  curse  at  you.  One  day  here  in  America  an 
old  woman  hobbled  into  a  store  where  I  was  and  be- 
gan pouring  her  tale  of  woe  in  the  ear  of  the  clerks. 
Failing  to  arouse  their  sympathy,  she  turned  to  me 
and  repeated  the  story. 

"If  you  are  helpless  and  homeless,  why  don't  you  go 
to  the  almshouse?"  I  asked. 

She  indignantly  replied :  "I  don't  have  to  go  there, 
and  I  want  yees  to  understand  it." 

"You  would  be  far  better  ofif  there  than  going  about 
in  this  way,"  I  said. 

Forgetting  her  lameness,  she  hurried  to  the. door 
and  on  reaching  it  turned  and  clinched  her  fist  and, 
shaking  it  vigorously  at  me,  said :  "May  yees  die  hard 
and  hungry,"  and  profusely  showered  on  me  other 
curses. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      173 

Another  old,  distressed  looking  woman  came  into 
the  store  one  day,  begging  for  money  to  give  her  hus- 
band a  decent  burial  who,  she  said,  was  lying  in  the 
morgue,  and  in  a  few  weeks  afterward  she  came  in 
again,  evidently  forgetting  she  had  been  there  before 
on  the  same  errand. 

"Would  ye  be  kind  enough  to  give  me  something 
to  help  give  me  husband  a  dacent  burial?"  she  said. 

''Aunty,  haven't  you  got  the  old  man  buried  yet? 
He  must  be  in  a  fine  condition  after  being  several 
weeks  in  the  morgue,"  said  one  of  the  clerks.  The 
old  woman  looked  crestfallen  and  hurriedly  left  the 
store,  leaving  a  long  string  of  curses. 

In  company  with  a  friend,  in  passing  along  one  of 
the  principal  thoroughfares  of  Belfast,  we  saw  a  man 
with  a  hand-cart  and  accompanied  by  a  woman  com- 
ing down  the  middle  of  the  street.  She  evidently  had 
not  arranged  her  toilet  for  many  days.  She  wore  a 
very  short  dress  which,  for  brevity,  would  have  an- 
swered very  nicely  for  a  bicycle  dress  for  some  of  our 
American  women  who  evidently  believe  in  extremes. 
She  was  putting  her  feet  down  very  gingerly  on  the 
cobble  stones  which  in  color  were  the  same.  Just 
as  we  were  passing  them  she  said:  "Let  me  in  the 
cart." 

The  man  lowered  the  odd  looking  vehicle  and  she 
climbed  in  very  gracefully,  and  he  wheeled  this  old, 
soiled  piece  of  humanity  down  the  street  much  to  the 
amusement  of  the  passers-by. 

In  company  with  this  same  friend  I  went  to  a 
wretched  little  home  to  cheer  the  heart  of  the  occu- 
pant with  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion.  She  was  a  sister 
who  had  never  become  entangled  in  the  matrimonial 


174  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABiROAD. 

meshes  and  seemed  well  content  in  the  company  of 
her  three  cats.  When  I  struck  the  chords  of  the  harp' 
and  lifted  my  voice  in  song,  the  trio  immediately  arose 
from  their  different  napping  places  and,  getting  their 
spines  curved  and  their  tails  far  beyond  their  normal 
size,  walked  about  the  little  room  on  the  tips  of  their 
toes  and  glared  at  me  wildly.  She  assured  them  I 
was  a  peacable  character,  but  they  still  objected  to 
the  tall  Yankee  invading  their  quarters.  In  catching 
the  eye  of  my  friend  I  nearly  lost  my  balance. 

"You  seem  to  quickly  see  the  funny  side  of  life," 
said  my  friend,  as  we  left  this  little  home. 

"Yes,"  I  replied;  "I  would  much  rather  not  have  it 
so,  especially  when  on  an  errand  of  this  kind." 

One  evening  near  where  I  was  stopping  there  was 
a  woman  of  very  respectable  appearance  very  much 
under  the  influence  of  strong  drink.  She  had  fallen 
and  received  a  bad  wound  on  her  forehead. 

"Assist  me  in  taking  this  woman  to  her  home,"  said 
the  gentleman  with  me,  who  was  ever  ready  to  per- 
form the  good  Samaritan  act. 

"Why  not  let  the  poUce  attend  to  that?"  I  replied. 

"Come,  lend  a  hand;  we  will  not  wait  to  call  an 
officer.  It  is  not  far  away,  if  the  address  she  gives  is 
correct." 

So  I  helped  to  steady  her  steps  to  her  home.  On 
reaching  there  her  husband,  who  was  an  old  man, 
said  with  a  look  of  surprise: 

"Sure,  she  only  left  here  a  short  time  ago.  How 
and  where  did  she  get  in  that  condition?" 

The  only  answer  we  could  give  was  we  found  her 
"bruised  and  mangled  by  her  fall"  and  needing  help. 
Shortly  after  we  helped  her  into  the  little  home  she 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      175 

had  a  spasm  from  the  effects  of  the  whisky.  The  old 
man  seemed  so  troubled  we  concluded  to  remain  with 
him  until  she  recovered.  After  regaining  her  con- 
sciousness she  shouted : 

"Yees  are  both  fine  gintlemen  to  be  bringin'  me 
home,  and  I  want  yees  to  stay  with  us."  We  had  no 
desire  to  prolong  our  stay.  My  friend  being  near  the 
door,  quickly  stepped  out,  and  when  I  attempted  to 
do  so  she  laid  violent  hands  on  me  and  shouted :  ''Yees 
can't  go." 

''Let  him  go  to  his  home,"  said  the  old  man.  She 
gave  him  a  look  and  said : 

"Hauld  yer  tongue,"  and  he  meekly  obeyed  orders. 
Thinking  to  leave  as  quietly  as  possible,  I  began  to 
reason  with  her,  but  Hke  most  of  women,  even  those 
with  clear  heads,  she  insisted  on  having  her  own  way. 
Finally  I  loosened  her  grasp  and  hurried  to  the  street 
and  found  the  good  Samaritan  nearly  convulsed  with 
laughter  at  the  manner  in  which  I  left  the  little  house. 

"When  you  get  me  again  in  a  predicament  Hke  that, 
it  will  be  when  there  are  no  poHceman  to  handle  the 
case,"  I  said.  My  kindly  disposed  friend,  I  think, 
will  have  his  "wayside"  cases  sent  instead  of  taking 
them  to  the  "Friendly  Inn." 


176      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

BELFAST  DURING  THE  WAR  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA- 

Vrj  HERE  was  great  excitement  all  through  the 
^  I  ®  city  on  the  account  of  the  war  in  South  Africa, 
which  had  been  in  progress  only  a  few  weeks 
when  I  went  back  to  Belfast.  The  people  were  in 
great  suspense  previous  to  the  relief  of  Ladysmith. 
When  the  report  came  it  had  been  relieved,  their  was 
a  burst  of  enthusiastic  joy  that  spread  like  wild  fire 
all  over  the  city.  The  EngHsh  flags  were  quickly 
flung  to  the  breeze  and  the  shouts  of  the  people  could 
be  heard  in  all  directions.  Hundreds  of  men  and  wo- 
men left  their  employment  and  paraded  the  streets, 
waving  the  Union  Jack  and  singing  "God  save  the 
Queen"  and  "Rule  Brittainia."  Far  into  the  night 
could  be  heard  the  brass  bands  and  fife  and  drum 
corps,  mingled  with  the  cheers  of  the  immense  crowds 
that  thronged  the  streets  and  many  of  them  continued 
to  celebrate  the  event  the  following  day.  Standing  at 
Castle  Junction  and  Royal  avenue,  looking  out  on 
that  surging  mass  of  people  who  were  giving  expres- 
sion to  their  joyous  feelings,  I  concluded  that  Queen 
Victoria  had  no  more  loyal  subjects  in  all  her  wide 
domain.  One  rough  looking  fellow,  however,  stand- 
ing near  me  did  not  seem  to  be  very  patriotic.  He 
turned  to  me  and  said : 

"They  had  better  be  sure  the  report  is  true  before 
they  make  such  a  fuss  as  this." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  177 

"Oh,"  I  replied,  "1  don't  think  there  is  any  doubt 
about  it." 

"Och,  sure,  I  don't  care  wither  it's  true  or  not;  I'm 
more  interested  in  a  good  drink  of  whisky  or  porter," 
he  remarked.  There  was  no  reason  for  doubting 
him. 

''Strong  drink,"  I  said,  ''is  one  of  man's  greatest 
enemies,  and  the  government  would  do  well  to  make 
a  raid  on  it." 

"Och,  sure,  there's  no  harm  in  taking  a  wee  drap. 
I  don't  spind  all  me  shillin's  for  it.  I  have  enough 
left  to  take  care  of  me  old  father  and  mother,"  he  re- 
phed. 

"Well,  looking  after  the  old  folks  is  very  commend- 
able, and  so  is  abstaining  from  a  wee  drap  of  the 
crater,"  I  said. 

When  the  report  came  of  the  fall  of  Pretoria,  there 
was  another  great  demonstration.  Bands  of  young 
men  and  women  and  boys  and  girls  paraded  the  streets 
and  made  the  old  city  ring  with  their  merry  shouts 
and  songs.  From  the  mansion  to  the  smallest  home 
could  be  seen  the  emblems  of  rejoicing.  In  the  eve- 
ning I  sailed  for  Glasgow  and  just  before  the  steamer 
left,  there  was  a  crowd  of  young  women  evidently 
from  the  slums  came  down  along  the  quays  waving 
the  Union  Jack  and  singing,  "Rule  Brittania."  They 
were  celebrating  the  event  in  a  very  boisterous  man- 
ner. One  of  them  mounted  a  large  box  and  began 
singing  and  dancing.  The  others  gathered  around 
and  shook  their  bare  feet  briskly,  until  a  huge  police- 
man appeared  on  the  scene  and  dispersed  the  crowd. 

There  is  a  large  barracks  in  the  city  and  in  the  eve- 
nings the  red  coats  are   quite  conspicuous  on  the 


12 


178      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

streets.  Many  of  Ireland's  loyal  lads  offered  their 
services  to  the  good  old  Queen.  The  Imperial  Yeo- 
manry, composed  of  some  of  the  finest  lads  that  ever 
grew  on  the  Green  Isle,  donned  their  Kahki  suits  and 
sailed  away  to  South  Africa.  There  are  many  sad 
homes  in  Ireland,  for  many  of  those  lads  either  fell 
from  the  deadly  bullet  or  were  stricken  by  disease, 
and  their  bones  are  hidden  away  beneath  Africa's 
sands. 

The  father  and  mother  of  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
Imperial  Yeomanry  were  so  distressed  about  their  son 
leaving,  they  invited  a  company  of  friends  to  their 
splendid  home  for  a  season  of  prayer  for  the  safe  re- 
turn of  their  boy.  While  sitting  in  that  home  that 
evening  I  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  wonderful 
faith  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  of  that  father  and 
mother  and  their  sympathizing  friends.  When  the 
militia  left  for  South  Africa,  there  was  an  immense 
crowd  of  people  to  see  them  off  at  the  Great  Northern 
station,  where  some  very  sad  scenes  were  witnessed. 
An  old  woman,  jostled  by  the  crowd,  followed  hard 
after  a  young  man  and  on  reaching  the  gates  she  bade 
him  an  affectionate  farewell,  then  made  her  way  out 
through  the  crowd,  weeping  bitterly.  As  she  was 
passing  me,  I  said  to  her : 

"Is  that  your  son  leaving  for  the  seat  of  war?" 

"Oh,  yes,  it's  my  only  boy,"  she  replied,  "and  I'll 
never  see  him  again."  She  went  down  the  street 
sobbing  and  saying,  "Oh,  me  poor  boy ;  me  poor  boy." 

As  I  saw  those  men  tearing  themselves  away  from 
home  and  friends,  I  said :  "War  is  a  cruel  thing  and 
should  be  a  thing  unheard  of  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      179 

A  woman  standing  near  me  with  a  shawl  over  her 
head  and  a  hard  looking  face  peeping  from  under  it, 
said  to  another  woman  as  one  of  the  officers  was  pass- 
ing: "Look  at  that  wid  a  sword.  Sure,  he'll  have  lit- 
tle use  for  it.  He'll  be  wid  his  back  to  the  Boers  most 
of  the  time  on  the  run,"  and  added:  "If  he'd  known 
the  war  was  comin',  he'd  niver  joined  the  militia." 

"Och,  sure,"  said  the  other  woman,  "and  there's  a 
lot  goin'  jist  like  him." 


i8o  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SOME  WITTY  SAYINGS  HEARD  IN  IRELAND. 

@NE  day  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  the  custom  house 
in  Belfast  and  while  there  inquired  of  some  of 
the  clerks  whether  a  small  article  I  wished  to 
send  to  America  was  dutiable.  ''I'm  not  quite  sure, 
sir,  but  I  think  it  is,"  was  his  reply. 

''I  am  an  American,"  I  said,  "but  I  think  it  is  an 
abominable  system  to  put  a  duty  on  such  a  trifle." 
Another  clerk  put  his  head  out  of  the  ofiflce  door  and 
said: 

''We  are  not  allowed  to  abuse  the  customs  of  other 
countries  during"  office  hours,  but  come  around  about 
4  o'clock,  sir.     We'll  all  join  in  with  you." 

"Did  you  ever  hear  how  Paddy  silenced  the  infi- 
del?" said  a  man  to  me  one  day  in  Dublin. 

"No,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  the  infidel  was  making  sport  of  the  Bible  in 
one  of  his  meetings  and  causing  great  laughter.  'You 
take  that  pig  story,'  he  said.  'Why,  it  was  three  miles 
from  where  those  pigs  were  to  the  sea,  and  who  ever 
heard  of  a  pig  running  that  far?'  " 

"Hauld  yerself  steady,"  said  Paddy;  "I  bought  a 
wee  pig  at  the  market  the  other  day  and  whin  I  was 
gittin'  it  out  of  the  cart,  sure  it  got  away  from  me  and 
rin  eight  miles  before  I  caught  it,  and  I  wants  to  know 
if  a  pig  could  run  eight  miles  without  the  devil  in  it, 
how  far  could  one  run  wid  a  legion?" 

One  of  my  Irish  friends  who  seemed  to  have  a  large 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      i8i 

fund  of  amusing  stories,  told  me  of  an  Englishman 
who  visited  Ireland  and  gave  his  trunk  in  charge  of 
one  of  the  van  guards.  At  several  of  the  stations  he 
shouted  at  the  guard  to  know  if  his  trunk  was  all  right. 
"Yer  trunk  is  all  right,"  said  the  guard.  "Is  me 
trunk  all  right,"  again  shouted  the  Englishman.  "It 
is,  sor,  and  if  yees  had  been  born  an  elephant  instead 
of  an  ass,  yees  could  have  carried  yer  trunk  wid  yees," 
said  Paddy. 

A  gentleman  whose  home  I  frequently  visited  while 
in  Belfast,  told  a  story  in  a  very  amusing  way  of  an  old 
minister  he  knew.  Some  of  the  people  were  napping 
during  the  sermon,  and  the  old  minister  remarked : 

"Well,  get  all  the  sleep  you  can,  for  you  will  get 
none  in  the  warm  region  where  you're  going." 

This  same  old  minister  lost  his  wife  and,  like  very 
many  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  on  coming  from  the 
cemetery  brushed  away  his  tears  and  quickly  started 
out  in  pursuit  of  another,  and  without  any  difficulty 
succeeded  in  getting  one.  Some  of  his  ministerial 
brethren  reproved  him  for  so  quickly  removing  the 
crepe  from  his  tall  hat. 

"Why,  brethen,"  he  said,  "she  is  happy  up  there  in 
heaven.  There's  no  need  of  me  being  miserable  down 
here." 

Several  years  ago  a  young  man  sitting  beside  me  at 
the  table  of  a  large  boarding  house,  said  to  the  Irish 
waitress :  "Come  here,  Mary,  while  I  kiss  you." 

"It's  fond  of  veal  yees  must  think  I  am  to  be  kissin' 
a  calf,"  was  her  quick  reply.  All  present  except  the 
crimson-faced  young  man  joined  in  laughing  at  her 
Irish  wit. 

In  coming  to  a  railroad  crossing  in  company  witK  a 


i82      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

friend  one  day,  I  said  to  the  witty  old  Irish  gateman : 
''Michael,  put  this  fellow  on  the  end  of  the  gate  and 
toss  him  up  in  the  air." 

'It's  to  near  heaven,  sir,  and  he  doesn't  belong  up 
that  way,"  was  the  amusing  answer  he  gave. 

An  Irish  woman,  on  seeing  an  emaciated  pair  of 
chickens  hanging  at  a  store  door  on  a  Thanksgiving 
day,  said  as  she  came  in:  "Take  them  chickens  in. 
They're  not  the  kind  to  be  hangin'  at  the  door  a  day 
like  this.  I'd  like  to  know  what  mon  could  ask  the 
blessing  over  such  chickens  as  those." 

One  day  I  met  an  old  man  on  the  street  begging  for 
something  to  eat.  I  began  to  talk  to  him  of  the  bet- 
ter life.  He  dropped  his  head  and  Hstened  and  I 
thought  I  was  pouring  lots  of  comfort  in  his  ears. 
When  I  had  finished  he  looked  up  and  said,  with  his 
rich  brogue : 

''Sure'n  and  a  mon  can't  think  much  about  that  wid 
a  hungry  stomach.  Why,  it's  all  fast  to  the  back  of 
me  now  wid  the  hunger." 

A  short  time  afterward  I  met  him  in  the  office  of  one 
of  my  friends. 

''Good  mornin',"  he  said  to  me  as  he  came  in. 

"Why,  do  you  know  him,  Jimmy?"  said  my  friend. 

'T  do,  sir,  and  he  always  greets  me  wid  a  smile." 

"Well,  he  also  smiles  on  the  ladies,"  said  my  friend. 

"It's  a  weakness  of  the  human  family,  and  it  didn't 
pass  by  you,"  said  Jimmy. 

My  wise  friend  admitted  that  Jimmy  was  on  the 
lead. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  183 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

SOME  INCIDENTS  IN  MISSION  WORK. 

0NE  day,  in  company  with  one  of  the  city  mis- 
sionaries, I  went  into  the  home  of  a  very  quaint 
old  lady.  When  he  introduced  me,  she  said: 
''Sit  ye  down,  if  ye  don't  stay  but  a  week." 

Then  turning  to  the  missionary,  who  was  a  very 
small  man,  said :  ''Mr.  B —  is  a  wee  mon,  but  a  good 
one." 

Then  looking  up  into  my  face,  which  was  some  dis- 
tance from  the  little  old  woman,  she  said :  "But  you 
took  to  growan'  quickly  and  staid  at  it  a  long  time.'^ 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation  she  remarked :  "I'm 
patiently  waitin'  for  the  Boatman  to  come  and  take  me 
over  home,"  and  in  a  few  days  after  our  visit  the  Boat- 
man came  and  conveyed  her  across  death's  silent  river. 

"Aunty,"  said  a  missionary  in  another  section  of  the 
city,  "we  are  going  to  hold  a  meeting  at  No.  56  on 
this  same  street.     Will  you  come  over?" 

"Well,"  she  replied,  "I  don't  have  to  go  out  to 
meet  the  Lord.     Sure,  I  have  Him  in  me  home." 

"This  gentleman  has  a  harp,  and  is  to  play  and 
sing,"  he  further  remarked. 

"Well,  I  have  no  need  to  go  and  hear  the  gentle- 
man's music,  for  God  put  a  melody  down  in  me  soul 
many  years  ago,  and  I  have  it  there  yet,"  was  her 
answer.  But  she  was  at  the  meeting  and  her  old, 
motherly  face  was  an  inspiration. 

We  went  to  another  home  and  knocked  at  the  door. 


i84      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Come  in,"  said  a  woman.  When  we  entered  this 
wretched  home  there  sat  two  women  huddled  about  a 
few  dying  embers  in  the  grate.  The  younger  one 
held  a  small  babe  in  her  lap.  The  only  article  of 
clothing  worn  was  a  remnant  of  a  little  dress.  We  in- 
vited them  to  the  meeting,  but  they  preferred  to  re- 
main in  their  wretchedness.  He  succeeded  in  gath- 
ering quite  a  congregation  in  the  little  house.  The 
children  gathered  around  the  door  and  when  we  sang 
the  hymn,  'When  the  roll  is  called  up  yonder,"  they 
took  up  the  chorus  and  sang  it  lustily.  In  company 
with  one  of  the  workers  I  called  at  an  open  door  and 
inquired  of  the  little,  old  woman  whether  we  could 
come  in  and  give  her  a  hymn  with  a  few  chords  on  the 
harp.  ''No,  yees  can't  come  in,"  she  repHed.  'Tf  I 
want  to  hear  that  thing,  I  can  come  over  to  the  hall." 

"Well,  will  you  come  over?"  I  inquired. 

'Tf  I  can  get  a  shawl,  but  they're  mighty  scarce 
about  this  house." 

"Oh,  come  without  one." 

"Indade  and  I'll  not.  If  I  can  get  me  dather's,  I'll 
come,"  she  said  as  she  stepped  to  the  door. 

"You  know,  aunty,  that  moving  day  is  coming,  and 
it  is  uncertain  just  when,  and  it  is  unwise  to  put  off 
securing  good  quarters,"  I  remarked. 

"Och,  sure,  we're  all  goin'  out  on  the  same  road," 
she  said,  and,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  her  eye,  added : 
"I  suppose  I  ought  to  come  over  and  get  me  sowl 
fixed  up  in  some  kind  of  shape."  She  evidently  was 
not  much  concerned  about  her  "sowl." 

"Come  in,"  said  a  woman  as  we  knocked  at  a  door 
nearby.  When  we  made  our  errand  known  she  said : 
"I'm  getting  meself  ready  to  go  to  England  this  eve- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      185 

ning,  but  sure  I'll  listen  to  one  piece  on  yer  harp." 

"When  we  had  finished  the  song,  she  said :  "How 
do  you  sell  yer  harps?" 

"I'm  not  selling  them,"  I  rephed. 

"Och,  sure,  I  thought  you  were." 

"No,  we  are  visiting  the  homes  in  this  vicinity  try- 
ing to  induce  the  people  to  get  ready  to  take  a  far 
more  important  journey  than  going  to  England  or 
any  other  country,"  I  remarked. 

She  soon  gave  us  to  understand  that  she  needed  the 
room  we  were  occupying  in  the  little  house  to  com- 
plete her  preparations  for  the  journey  in  which  she 
was  the  most  interested,  and  we  vacated. 

"Come  in,"  said  a  faint  voice  as  we  knocked  at  the 
door  of  another  one  of  the  many  wretched  homes  in 
that  section.  As  we  entered  this  little,  cheerless 
home,  there,  sitting  on  a  stool  at  a  table,  sat  a  poor 
emaciated  looking  woman  partaking  of  her  scant  mor- 
sel of  bread  and  tea.  When  we  invited  her  to  the 
meetings  being  held  in  the  large  hall  nearby,  she  said : 

"I  attend  the  meetings  there;  I'm  too  poor  to  go 
into  any  of  the  churches.  I've  had  a  hard  time  since 
me  husband  died,  but  I  have  had  the  Lord  with  me 
for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  I  was  converted  in 
one  of  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  here  in  Belfast."  We 
found  a  real  saint  hidden  away  in  this  little  hovel. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  held  in  this  large  hall  a 
young  lady  came  to  me  and  said :  "There  is  a  man  who 
says  he  has  been  to  America  and  wishes  to  see  you." 

I  found  that  he  had  not  only  been  to  America,  but 
also  to  the  public  house  and  tarried  there  sometime. 

"Say,  Butler,  I've  been  over  to  your  country.  I've 
been  out  as  far  as  California." 


i86      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

'That  is  a  long  distance  from  Philadelphia,"  I  re- 
plied. 

''Well,  say,  I  want  you  to  sing  for  me." 

"Oh,  you  come  around  to-morrow  night,"  I  re- 
plied. 

"I  may  be  in  H . .  by  that  time,"  he  said. 

Thinking  there  was  a  possibility  of  the  young  men 
setting  sail  for  that  port,  I  consented  to  sing  a  few 
verses  of  the  piece  he  requested. 

"Butler,  that's  not  all  of  that  hymn.  I  want  you 
to  finish  it." 

To  satisfy  him,  I  had  to  sing  the  entire  seven  verses. 
He  came  to  the  meetings  quite  frequently,  but  was  al- 
ways in  a  sober  condition.  He  was  a  very  bright,  in- 
telligent fellow. 

"Say,  I  can  play  that  banjo  as  well  as  yees ;  and  yer 
needn't  think  yees  can  come  over  here  and  learn  us 
anything,"  said  a  hard  looking  character,  rather  the 
worse  for  drink,  in  one  of  the  meetings. 

"Well,  I  can  tell  you  where  you  can  get  something 
better  to  drink  than  you  are  now  getting.  It  is  from 
the  old  well  of  salvation,"  I  replied. 

He  looked  up  into  my  face  with  an  expression 
which  strong  drink  alone  can  give,  and  said  :  "Do  yees 
know  anything  about  it  yerself?" 

"Oh,  I  hope  so." 

"I  don't  want  yees  to  be  hoping  anything  about  it. 
I  want  to  know  if  yees  are  all  right  yerself.  There's 
so  many  of  these  imposters  goin'  about,"  he  said, 
clinching  his  fist  and  putting  it  in  close  proximity  to 
my  eye.  My  wisest  plan,  I  thought,  was  to  quickly 
give  a  decided  answer  and  thus  avoid  a  scene.  After 
giving  him  the  answer  he  said : 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      187 

"Yees  need  not  spend  yer  time  in  talkin'  to  me,  for 
I  know  me  duty  and  if  I  don't  do  it,  will  be  beaten 
wid  many  stripes." 

One  evening  after  the  service  he  was  wagging  his 
tongue  quite  freely,  which  was  set  in  motion  by  his 
usual  dram,  and  one  of  the  mission  workers  said  to 
him,  ''Do  go  home." 

"Go  home?  Why,  heaven's  me  home,  and  sure 
yees  wonuld'nt  want  me  to  go  wid  these  clothes,"  he 
replied,  calling  her  attention  to  his  dilapidated  cloth- 
ing. 

''Look  at  this  suit  of  clothing  I'm  wearing  now," 
said  a  man  in  conversation  with  me  at  one  of  the  mis- 
sion halls.  "Two  years  ago  I  was  in  rags  and  the  pub- 
lican got  all  me  money.  One  night  one  of  the  young 
men  of  this  mission  came  to  me  house  and  talked  to 
me  of  the  better  life,  but  I  had  laid  in  some  porter  that 
I  w^as  more  interested  in  than  the  man's  talk.  When 
I  saw  that  man  bow  and  heard  his  voice  in  prayer,  and 
at  the  same  time  quieted  me  child  by  jogging  the  old 
basket  in  which  it  lay,  his  kindness  broke  me  heart, 
and  at  once  called  on  God  for  mercy  and  He  made 
me  a  sober  man,  and  now  I'm  takin'  care  of  me  family. 
I  used  to  have  to  carry  me  wares  about ;  now,  sure,  I 
have  a  donkey  and  cart." 

One  day  in  company  with  some  friends  I  went  in 
to  see  the  man's  donkey,  which  he  kept  in  a  little  shed 
in  the  yard. 

"How  do  you  get  him  out  to  the  street?"  I  inquired. 

"Och,  sure,  I  take  him  through  the  house  and  out 
the  front  door,"  was  his  answer. 

It  amused  me  as  I  thought  of   Billy,   the   donkey, 


i88      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

making  his  daily  trips  through  the  little  house  to  the 
street. 

"Why,  even  the  old  cat  knows  I  am  converted," 
said  a  man  at  one  of  the  meetings,  "for  when  I  was 
drinking  I  used  to  kick  her  out  of  doors.  Now  she 
purrs  beside  me  and  feels  perfectly  safe;  and  me  little' 
girl  run  from  me  and  hid  herself  when  she  saw  me 
comin'  home  drunk,  but  now  she  runs  with  her  arms 
out  to  meet  me." 

This  man  had  been  one  of  the  worst  drunkards  in 
Belfast,  but  through  the  efforts  of  the  mission  workers 
he  was  led  to  the  better  life.  He  was  a  very  earnest 
worker  in  the  missions  and  William  John  exerted  a 
wonderful  influence  for  good,  especially  over  his  old 
associates.  One  day  in  company  with  Rev.  William 
M —  and  a  number  of  his  workers,  I  visited  one  of  the 
slum  districts  and  assisted  in  the  open  air  meetings 
held  at  various  points.  There  was  a  young  girl  with 
decidely  red  hair  and  bare-footed  and  shabbily  dressed 
came  out  of  a  house  with  a  dog.  She  did  her  best  to 
persuade  the  animal  to  take  hold  of  us,  but  he,  seeing 
the  huge  piece  of  leather  I  was  about  to  lift  with  which 
to  keep  him  from  testing  the  strength  of  my  trousers, 
suddenly  halted  and  refused  to  obey  the  command  of 
his  vicious  mistress.  Most  of  the  motley  crowd  that 
gathered  about  us  were  quite  attentive.  There  was 
one  great,  stalwart  woman  who  came  out  of  a  house 
and  made  an  effort  to  disturb  the  meeting,  but  Rev. 
Maguire  turned  the  gospel  gun  on  her  and  she  quickly 
fled.  She  had  been  in  this  old  world  lo,  these  many 
years,  but  had  tried  to  conceal  the  finger  marks  of 
Father  Time  by  a  great  quantity  of  paint  and  powder, 
and   an  application   of  hair   dye.      We   styled   her 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      189 

"sweet  sixteen."  We  were  requested  one  day  to  call 
and  see  a  number  of  sick  persons.  The  first  house  we 
visited  was  that  of  a  man  who  was  very  ill  with  con- 
sumption. He  and  his  wife  had  been  saved  from  lives 
of  wretchedness  and  sin  in  one  of  the  missions  in  that 
vicinity.  Seeing  his  very  weak  condition,  I  said  to 
him :  "Do  you  think  you  can  stand  a  little  singing  to- 
day?" His  wife  did  not  give  him  time  to  answer,  but 
said:  "Of  course  he  can  stand  it.  If  he's  goin'  to 
heaven  he's  got  to  stand  it,  for  they  have  plenty  of  it 
up  there  and  he  might  as  well  get  used  to  it  down 
here." 

As  we  were  leaving,  he  said  there  was  a  man  sick 
next  door  and  requested  us  to  visit  him.  We  went 
into  the  little  room  and  found  a  man  in  a  dying  condi- 
tion. I  asked  him  the  same  question  as  I  did  the 
other  man.     He  loked  up  into  my  face  and  said : 

"A  mon  in  the  jaws  of  death  can  stand  nothin'  like 
that ;  I'm  going  to  heaven  where  they  have  plenty  of 
music.     I'll  wait  till  I  get  there." 

We  went  into  another  home  where  lay  a  woman  dy- 
ing with  consumption.  When  we  inquired  as  to  how 
she  was  feeling,  she  said: 

"Och,  I  am  so  tired  of  waiting  for  my  boatman  I 
wish  he  would  come  and  take  m.e  home.  Sure,  the 
only  one  I  dread  leaving  is  my  good  husband.  He 
is  very  kind ;  he  gets  me  all  he  can  for  my  comfort." 

As  we  looked  around  the  poverty  stricken  home 
we  concluded  his  means  must  be  very  limited. 

Seeing  an  old  woman  sitting  by  a  window  sewing, 
I  said  to  the  young  man  with  me :  "We  will  go  in  and 
with  a  song  cheer  the  heart  of  that  old  creature.  Our 
knock  was  answered  by  a  young  woman  who  recog- 


190      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

nized  us  and  gladly  welcomed  us  to  this  wretched 
home.  An  old  man  sat  by  the  open  grate  and  we 
asked  if  he  was  a  Christian.  The  old  woman,  not  giv- 
ing him  time  to  answer,  said : 

"Sure,  sometimes  he  is  and  sometimes  he's  not. 
He's  pretty  short  at  times."  The  old  man  gave  her  a 
look  that  led  us  to  believe  it  was  true. 

"Why,  God  surely  sent  you  here,  for  no  one  ever 
comes  to  see  me,"  said  an  old  woman  who  answered 
our  knock  at  another  little  home.  "Come  in  and  take 
seats,"  she  said.  She  gave  us  a  brief  history  of  her 
Christian  life,  in  which,  she  informed  us,  it  was 
through  a  Salvation  Army  lass  that  she  was  led  to  the 
better  life. 

"I  am  living  alone  in  this  home,  but  have  the  pres- 
ence of  Jesus  and  have  had  for  eighteen  years.  I  shall 
leave  this  old  house  soon  for  the  mansion  prepared 
for  me,"  she  said. 

We  left  that  home  well  assured  that  happiness  did 
not  consist  in  having  a  heavy  bank  account,  but  in 
having  a  clear  title  to  a  home  that  shall  never  decay. 

"Is  that  the  new  curate?"  shouted  a  drunken  wo- 
man one  evening  in  a  mission  hall  as  she  saw  me  on 
the  platform.  Then  standing  up  and  waving  her 
hand,  shouted:  "I  want  to  meet  the  new  curate." 
Some  of  the  workers  tried  to  quiet  her  but  she  insisted 
on  having  an  introduction  to  me. 

"You  just  wait  until  I  am  through  talking  to  these 
children,"  I  said.  "Then  I  will  meet  you."  But  she 
insisted  on  meeting  the  new  curate  at  once  and  had 
the  right  of  way  for  sometime  until  they  convinced  her 
I  was  not  the  new  curate. 

One  of  the  prominent  mission  workers  informed 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      191 

me  that  one  day  in  company  with  another  worker  he 
went  to  a  home  where  both  the  husband  and  wife 
drank.  They  found  them  both  lying  on  the  floor 
drunk  and  the  Httle  ones  very  much  neglected. 
There  being  no  food  in  the  house  they  procured  some 
and  were  preparing  it  for  the  children.  The  woman 
raised  up  and  leaning  on  her  elbow,  shouted  to  her 
husband : 

"Mike,  the  angels  are  hoverin'  around."  When  the 
hungry  little  ones  sat  down  and  partook  of  the  meal 
prepared  by  these  Christian  men,  they  must  have  con- 
cluded that  the  angels  had  done  more  than  hover 
around.  These  men  are  members  of  a  Christian  band 
composed  of  business  and  professional  men  who  are 
actively  engaged  in  Christian  work.  One  of  them  is 
a  lawyer  and  opens  his  office  every  Tuesday  night  for 
a  prayer  service.  One  of  them  gave  me  a  number  of 
a  house  and  requested  me  to  call  and  see  a  dying  man. 
When  we  entered  that  little  home,  there  were  three 
women  sitting  beside  a  young  man  who  was  throwing 
his  hands  wildly  and  talking  incoherently.  We 
thought  at  once  he  was  the  sick  man.  I  walked  over 
to  the  lounge  and  asked  very  gravely:  ''How  long 
he  had  been  sick." 

"This  is  not  the  sick  man.  He's  just  come  in  to  lie 
down.  The  sick  man  is  in  yon  room."  This  fellow 
was  celebrating  Easter  and  was  badly  out  of  repairs. 
In  this  Httle  room  to  which  we  were  directed  lay  a  man 
on  an  apology  for  a  bed.  There  was  an  old  coat 
thrown  over  his  shoulders  and  he  was  breathing  an 
atmosphere  that  was  a  great  tax  on  our  healthy 
breathing  apparatus.  The  penny  dip  in  the  little,  old 
fashioned  candle  stick  was  nearly  burned  out,  which 


192      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

seemed  to  be  a  very  striking  figure  of  the  flickering 
life  of  the  poor  old  man.  We  found  the  man  quite 
willing  and  ready  to  quit  his  wretched  home  for  the 
better  one.  We  sang  a  hymn  which  seemed  to  cheer 
his  old  heart.  Just  before  we  finished,  the  young  man 
lying  on  the  lounge  joined  in  the  chorus,  but  his 
ragged  and  discordant  notes  side-tracked  us.  On 
leaving  this  wretched  home,  was  glad  to  again  breathe 
a  purer  atmosphere. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  we  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  a  very  excellent  young  man  and  his  wife.  They 
were  both  earnest  Christians  and  rendered  valuable 
service  in  the  meetings.  They  invited  us  to  their 
home  and  we  found  them  real,  typical,  warm-hearted 
Irish  people.  One  day  I  learned  that  she  had  passed 
to  the  great  beyond.  I  hastened  to  their  home  and 
found  the  emblem  of  mourning  on  their  store  door, 
and  friends  gathering  at  the  house  to  pay  their  re- 
spects to  the  dead  girl.  When  I  entered  the  room, 
her  father  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears  and  said :  "I  want 
you  to  sing,  'My  Jesus,  I  love  thee.'  That  is  the  last 
piece  she  sang.  With  her  latest  breath  she  sang  this 
verse : 

'And  say  when  the  death  dew  lies  cold 

on  my  'brow, 
If  ever  I  love  Thee,  my  Jesus  'tis  now.'" 

There  by  that  open  coflin  containing  the  form  of 
that  young  woman  who  had  just  passed  her  21st  year, 
I  sang  the  hymn  requested  amid  the  sobs  of  that  young 
husband,  father  and  mother  and  other  members  of  the 
family.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  service  they  carried 
the  coffin  down  stairs  and  placed  it  on  two  chairs  just 
outside  of  the  door.     In  a  short  time  afterward  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD.      193 

husband  and  father  and  two  brothers  came  down  and 
placing  the  coffin  on  their  shoulders,  carried  it  for  sev- 
eral squares  back  of  the  hearse,  which  is  considered  a 
great  mark  of  respect.  They  were  followed  by  the 
male  members  and  friends  of  the  family.  The  female 
members  of  the  family  seldom  follow  the  remains  to 
the  grave.  Frequently  I  have  seen  the  funeral  pro- 
cession passing  along  the  street,  followed  by  a  num- 
ber of  empty  cariages.  Most  of  the  friends  walk  the 
entire  distance  to  the  cemetery.  It  all  seemed  very 
strange  to  me,  being  so  entirely  different  from  our 
custom  in  America. 

One  day,  in  company  with  one  of  the  workers,  we 
visited  a  man  who  was  very  ill,  but  who  had  retained 
his  large  vein  of  wit  and  humor. 

''Does  Dr.  R —  still  attend  you?"  asked  the  gentle- 
man with  me. 

"He  does,"  he  said,  gasping  for  breath,  "but,  sure, 
he  gives  me  nothin'  but  cough  syrup,  sir.  Why, 
sure,  I  think  he'd  give  me  cough  medicine  for  a  broken 
leg." 

He  was  a  comparatively  young  man  and  had  been 
a  very  earnest  worker  in  open  air  meetings.  The  dif- 
ferent demoninations  hold  their  open  air  services  in 
different  parts  of  the  city.  In  the  evening  your  ears 
are  greeted  by  the  gospel  hymns  on  the  different  street 
corners.  Usually  the  audience  gathered  about  these 
bands  of  Christian  workers  are  very  attentive  listeners. 
Rev.  W.  M — ,  whom  I  became  acquainted  with,  was 
one  of  the  most  earnest  Christian  ministers  I  ever  met. 
He  was  a  very  fearless  man  and  stood  up  in  the  open 
air  meetings  and  denounced  every  form  of  sin.  He 
invited  me  to  sing  **He  saves  a  poor  sinner  like  me" 

13 


194      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

at  one  of  his  services  at  the  church.  As  I  stood  in  the 
great,  high,  old  fashioned  pulpit  and  was  about  to 
begin  the  piece,  a  young  man  in  the  crowded  gallery 
shouted : 

"We'll  not  have  that  piece ;  it's  not  appropriate  to 
sing  it  now,"  and  as  he  stood  up  in  the  seat  forbade  me 
singing  it. 

The' pastor  sprang  to  his  feet  and  said  to  the  fellow, 
"Sit  down  there  and  be  quiet." 

As  he  saw  the  tall  form  of  the  pastor  and  heard  his 
command,  he  immediately  took  his  seat,  but  in  a  few 
minutes  he  shouted  at  me  to  stop  singing  that  piece. 
The  Rev.  M — 's  son  was  at  the  side  of  the  man  in  a 
few  minutes  and,  like  his  father,  is  a  fearless  fellow  and 
straightened  out  the  boisterous  lad,  so  that  we  were 
not  interrupted  again  during  the  service,  but  at  the 
close  the  man  started  up  the  aisle  and  said  he  was  go- 
ing to  settle  with  me,  but  the  pastor's  son  took  him 
by  the  collar  and  led  him  to  the  street.  The  heavy 
draught  of  whisky  which  he  took  in  previous  to  com- 
ing to  church  was  responsible  for  his  conduct.  When 
this  good  man  took  up  the  work  in  this  old  church, 
built  in  1817,  there  was  only  a  small  congregation,  but 
through  his  efforts  and  his  earnest  band  of  workers, 
they  have  so  built  up  the  congregation  until  now  the 
old  church  is  usually  crowded,  especially  so  on  Sun- 
day evenings.  The  home  of  this  minister  was  one  of 
those  in  which  I  found  a  warm  welcome  and  shall  al- 
ways remember  the  kindness  shown  me  by  him  and  his 
good  wife  and  entire  family. 

At  a  meeting  in  one  of  the  missions  connected  with 
one  of  the  Methodist  churches,  a  very  fine  looking 
man  came  in  very  much  ui^^^r  the  influence  of  drink. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      195 

One  of  the  workers  spoke  to  him  about  the  better  life. 

''Sir,"  he  said,  "I  know  the  way.  I  once  stood  in 
the  pulpit  and  preached  the  gospel,  but  allowed  drink 
to  get  the  best  of  me."  He  was  very  anxious  to  find 
his  way  back  to  the  homeward  path  and  I  learned 
shcwrtly  afterward  through  the  efforts  of  some  earnest 
Christian  workers  he  had  again  come  back  to  the  fold. 
As  I  saw  that  fine  looking,  intelligent  man  who  had 
once  occupied  the  exalted  position  of  preaching  the 
gospel,  I  thought  :  Is  it  possible  that  the  black  hand 
of  intemperance  can  reach  so  high  and  drag  a  man 
down?     And  yet  it  is  true. 

The  many  incidents  that  happened  in  my  feeble  ef- 
forts to  assist  in  mission  work  in  Belfast  and  other 
places  will  never  be  effaced  from  my  memory.  There 
are  many  others  that  I  would  Hke  to  pass  out  to  the 
reader,  some  of  which  are  very  amusing  and  others 
that  strike  on  the  pathetic  side,  but  space  will  not 
permit  me  to  give  them. 


196  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SOME  PERSONS  I  MET  IN  TRAVELING. 

ONE  day  in  going  from  Belfast  to  Lisburn,  two 
young  men  engaged  in  conversation  with  me. 
One  of  them  in  speaking  of  the  section  of  the 
country  through  which  we  were  passing,  said :  "That 
is  what  is  called  the  broad  road  to  Belfast." 

'There  is  another  broad  road/'  I  said,  ''in  which  I 
trust  you  young  men  are  not  walking."  They  smiled, 
and  one  of  them  said : 

'T  think,  sir,  we  have  taken  that  road." 

"Take  my  advice  and  turn  your  feet  toward  the 
safe  path,"  I  remarked. 

"Och,  sure,"  he  said,  "the  devil  and  I  have  been 
good  friends  so  long,  I  should  not  like  to  part  com- 
pany with  him." 

"I  have  never  been  sorry  I  bade  the  old  lad  adieu," 
I  said.  They  seemed  greatly  amused  with  my  little 
sermonette  and  turned  such  a  heavy  stream  of  Irish 
wit  on  me  that  I  was  completely  deluged. 

Two  men  in  the  compartment  with  me  going  from 
Belfast  to  Dublin  engaged  in  conversation  about  the 
Balmoral  Agricultural  Fair  which  had  closed  that  day. 
Sitting  opposite  to  me  was  a  plainly  dressed  woman, 
apparently  not  possessing  much  of  this  world's  goods, 
but  well  furnished  with  tongue.  She  listened  to  the 
conversation  a  little  while  until  she  prepared  a  heavy 
bundle  of  questions,  then  passed  them  over  to  the 
men.      They  broke  off  the  thread  of  conversation 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      I97 

with  each  other  and  were  kept  busy  passing  the  an- 
swers back  to  the  woman.  One  of  her  questions  was, 
how  would  she  manage  to  get  her  cattle  into  the  fair 
the  next  year?  They  gave  her  the  information. 
Then  she  wanted  to  know  the  price  of  stock.  Her 
husband,  who  sat  next  to  me,  scowled  at  her,  but  she 
talked  on  through  his  reproving  looks.  At  Lisburn 
these  men  left  the  car  for  a  few  minutes.  As  they  did 
so,  she  said  to  her  husband : 

"Those  men  have  been  givin'  me  some  tips  about 
me  cattle."     He  loked  at  her  indignantly  and  said : 

''What's  those  men  care  about  givin'  you  tips  any 
more  than  this  mon,  who  is  a  horse  dealer,  cares  about 
givin'  yer  tips  on  his  horses,"  referring  to  me.  I 
smiled  at  the  old  man  taking  me  for  a  horse  jockey. 
He  added:  "J^st  hauld  yer  tongue;  yees  have  too 
much  to  say."  Just  then  the  two  men  returned  and 
she  shortly  afterward  opened  fire  on  them  again. 

One  of  them  said,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  'T 
have  never  been  to  Dublin." 

"Shame  on  yer,  and  yees  a  business  mon,"  she  re- 
marked. 

"Och,  well,"  he  said,  "I  have  started  for  there  sev- 
eral times,  but  always  got  drunk  before  reaching 
there."  We  all  thought  a  few  drops  more  would  have 
unfit  the  woman  for  her  journey. 

An  old  man  sitting  in  front  of  the  man,  said : 

"I  have  never  been  to  Ireland  before." 

"You're  from  England,  I  think,"  said  the  man. 

"Yes ;  I  am  from  Manchester,  but  I  am  Scotch  by 
birth." 

"I  niver  saw  a  man  that  had  a  drop  of  Scotch  blood 


198  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

in  him  but  what  boasted  of  it.  Why,  *ven  old  Burns 
is  still  proud  of  it,  if  he  is  dead." 

''Mr.  Burns  is  not  dead;  he  lives  on  the  same  street 
with  me,"  she  said. 

"Hauld  yer  tongue,"  said  her  husband.  ''He's 
speakin'  of  Bobby  Burns,  the  poet." 

"I  thought  he  meant  our  Mr.  Burns,"  she  replied. 
The  oM  man  turned  to  me  and  said  in  an  undertone : 

"That  fellow  has  tongue  enough  for  a  regiment.  I 
could  be  travelin'  from  Belfast  to  Dublin  and  not  be 
spaken  to  a  person."  I  concluded  that  the  man  had 
little  opportunity  for  saying  rery  much  at  home,  by 
the  way  his  wife  used  her  tongue.  When  they  left 
the  train  an  old  man  came  into  the  compartment  and, 
as  he  did  so,  said : 

"Gintlemen,  don't  be  disturbin'  yourselves.  I  can 
get  a  seat."  No  one  had  made  the  slightest  move. 
One  of  the  pasengers  knew  him  and  said : 

"How  is  it  you  can  leave  the  station?" 

"It  was  there  before  I  knew  anything  about  it,  and 
it  will  be  there  long  after  I'm  gone." 

"It's  a  fine  day,"  the  man  further  remarked. 

"It  would  be  if  it  was  snowin',"  the  old  man  repHed. 
He  looked  as  though  he  was  quite  prepared  for  a 
storm  of  that  kind.  It  was  in  July,  but  he  wore  an 
overcoat  which,  from  its  appearance,  was  purchased 
when  he  was  a  young  man.  He  evidently  was  a  bach- 
elor, for  one  side  of  the  old,  light  colored  coat  he  had 
utilized  for  a  pin  cushion. 

"If  yees  feel  inclined  to  go  to  war,"  he  said,  "ye  can 
have  yer  choice.  You  can  either  g«  to  South  Africa 
or  China."  He  rode  some  distance  with  us  and  kept 
us  in  a  cheerful  frame  of  mind  by  his  funny  remarks. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      199 

At  one  of  the  stations  a  young  lady  came  into  the 
compartment  and  had  scarcely  seated  herself  before 
she  began  a  conversation  with  some  of  the  passeng- 
ers. She  finally  opened  up  her  mind  to  the  tall 
Yankee.     In  the  course  of  conversation  she  said: 

"My  home  is  in  Dublin.  I  have  been  to  one  of  the 
towns  in  the  North  to  look  after  some  business.  My 
adopted  mother  died  sometime  ago  and  left  me  a  small 
amount  and  her  sons  were  about  cheating  me  out  of 
it.     But  I  got  the  best  of  them." 

I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  for  I  think  the  impres- 
sion of  those  in  the  compartment  was  that  she  was 
fully  able  to  take  care  of  herself. 

On  learning  that  I  was  from  Yankee  land,  she  gave 
me  a  list  of  interesting  places  to  visit  in  Dublin.  One 
of  them  was  a  very  large  brewery.  ''Be  sure  and  sam- 
ple the  porter.  It  is  the  best  in  the  world."  My 
taste,  however,  did  not  call  for  anything  very  strong, 
even  though  my  face  did  indicate  that  my  beverages 
were  of  the  ''upsetting"  kind. 

"Where  does  this  train  stop?"  I  inquired  of  a  young 
man  sitting  beside  me,  on  the  train  going  from  Lon- 
don to  Holy  Head,  Wales. 

"Stafiford  is  the  first  stop." 

"Well,  I  am  very  thirsty,  and  if  that  is  a  long  dis- 
tance, I  shall  be  rather  uncomfortable  before  reaching 
there."  It  proved  to  be  quite  a  long  journey  and  on 
our  arrival  there  I  rushed  into  the  refreshment  saloon 
for  a  lemonade,  but  the  crowd  was  so  great  I  could 
not  be  attended  to  and,  failing  to  find  any  water,  re- 
turned to  the  compartment  in  the  same  famished  con- 
dition. 

"Well,  I  failed  to  slake  my  thirst,"  I  said,  as  I  took 


aoo      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

my  seat ;  "and  now  it  will  be  another  long  run  before 
reaching  Crew." 

An  Irish  fellow  sitting  opposite,  reached  up  to  the 
rack  and  took  a  flask  of  brandy  from  his  traveling  bag, 
and  said:  "Take  a  drink  of  brandy;  it  will  help  you 
out." 

"Thank,  you,"  I  replied,  "I  think  I  can  manage  un- 
til we  reach  Crew." 

"Oh,  you're  a  tetotaller,  are  you?" 

"Well,  yes,"  I  rephed. 

"Well,  I  was  too  until  I  was  twenty-five  years  old. 
Then  I  was  in  poor  health  and  the  doctor  ordered  me 
brown  stout,  and  when  I  go  on  a  long  journey  I  usu- 
ally take  a  little  brandy." 

"I  was  very  delicate  when  I  was  that  age,"  I  said, 
"but  I  did  not  take  brown  stout,  and  you  see  how 
stout  I  am." 

He  smiled  as  he  tipped  the  flask  and  took  a  heavy 
draught,  and  said  when  he  had  finished :  "A  wee  bit 
does  you  good." 

We  were  all  convinced  before  reaching  Holy  Head 
that  the  physician  who  prescribed  for  him  was  decid- 
edly "old  school."  He  had  emptied  the  contents  of 
his  bottle  and  it  had  disarranged  his  thinking  faculties 
and  made  him  a  bit  queer. 

SOME  TOWNS  I  VISITED  IN  IRELAND. 

Newtonards. — This  town  is  in  County  Down  at  the 
head  of  Strangford  Lough,  and  is  about  ten  miles 
from  Belfast.  It  has  a  population  of  10,000.  Near 
it  is  Scrabo  Hill,  lifting  its  head  500  feet  above  the 
Lough.  On  the  top  of  this  hill  is  a  tower  100  feet 
high,  erected  by  the  Marcus  of  Londenderry  in  mem- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      201 

ory  of  his  ancestors.  In  company  with  two  friends  I 
climbed  the  summit  of  the  hill  and  had  a  grand  view 
of  the  beautiful  scenery  stretching  out  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  Off  in  one  direction  were  the 
Mourne  Moutains.  On  the  other  side  was  the 
Lough  finding  its  way  out  to  the  Irish  sea,  across 
which,  of  a  clear  day,  can  be  seen  the  faint  outlines  of 
Scotland. 

On  one  of  the  streets  there  was  an  old  stone  cross 
that  attracted  my  attention.  It  was  ereced  in  1632 
by  the  Montgomery  family.  Near  it  was  the  ruins  of 
an  old  church  which  was  completely  covered  with  ivy. 
This  town  is  well  supplied  with  churches.  There  are 
seven  Presbyterian,  two  Methodist  and  Plymouth 
Brethen,  and  one  Catholic.  This  town  was  once 
noted  for  its  hand-looms  and  there  are  still  some  few 
in  operation.  One  day,  in  company  with  a  gentle- 
man from  ICansas  City,  in  passing  one  of  the  small 
houses,  we  heard  the  sound  of  one  of  these  looms.  I 
suggested  to  him  that  we  stop  and  ask  permission  to 
go  in  and  see  the  weaving. 

''Can  we  come  in  and  watch  the  process?"  I  in- 
quired of  the  good,  motherly  old  woman. 

"In  welcome,  sir,"  she  replied. 

In  passing  through  the  neat  little  room,  on  the 
walls  of  which  were  mottoes  and  scripture  texts,  and 
which  we  concluded  before  leaving,  not  only  hung  on 
the  wall  but  were  written  on  the  tablets  of  the  heart 
of  the  old  man  and  woman.  The  old  man  spoke  to  us 
very  pleasantly  arfd  went  on  with  his  weaving.  We 
talked  of  the  wonderful  improvement  in  machinery, 
and  especially  in  America. 

"Are  you  gentlemen  from  that  country?"    he   in- 


202      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

quired.  When  we  informed  him  we  were,  he  imme- 
diately left  his  work  and  came  over  to  us  and  said : 

"We  have  a  boy  in  America.  He  has  been  over 
there  about  ten  years."  Then  turning  about  to  his 
wife,  said:  "Mother,  get  John's  picture  and  show^  it 
to  these  gentlemen.     They  may  know  him." 

"There's  his  photo,"  said  the  mother,  "and  a  good 
lad  he  is.  He  has  never  missed  a  month  sending  us  a 
bit  of  money  since  he  left  this  old  home." 

His  face  was  proof  he  was  one  of  those  boys  that 
kept  the  old  folks  in  kind  remembrance. 

"His  face  is  not  familiar  to  me.  In  what  part  of  the 
country  does  he  live?"  I  inquired. 

"In  Pittsburg,  sir." 

"That  is  500  miles  from  my  home,  and.  a  much 
longer  distance  from  where  this  gentleman  resides," 
I  remarked. 

They  were  greatly  disappointed  that  we  had  no 
knowledge  of  John,  whom  they  continued  to  speak  of 
as  being  a  devoted  son. 

A  man  who  used  the  broad  Scotch,  but  was  a  native 
of  the  Old  Sod,  amused  me  very  much  in  the  store  of 
a  friend  in  this  old  town. 

"Good  mornin',"  he  said  to  another  rustic  looking 
man. 

"I'm  not  well,"  the  man  replied. 

"Well,  ye  couldna  expect  much  in  this  auld  world. 
Ye  should  be  gettin'  ready  to  go  awa." 

"He's  givin'  me  some  lessons,"  said  the  man  to  my 
friend. 

"Ye  ken  ye  have  put  some  lessons  in  the  back  of  the 
book  that  should  be  in  the  front,"  said  the  supposed 
Scotchman. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      203 

"You  are  still  preaching,"  my  friend  remarked. 

"Yes  and  ye  need  a  wee  bit  yersel.  Yer  all  too  fond 
of  the  money  and  good  claiths." 

"You  would  hke  to  be  wearing  better,"  the  proprie- 
tor replied.  He  walked  over  to  the  counter  and  said 
very  emphatically: 

"I  wouldna  be  goin'  aboot  with  ony  different  claiths 
and  ye  have  na  recht  to  be  judgin'  me  by  them.  If 
the  hert  is  recht  it  does  na  matter  aboot  the  claiths." 

"Well,  do  you  think  you  did  right  in  not  speaking 
of  the  faults  of  the  cow  you  sold  that  poor  woman?" 

"I  did  na  ken  of  her  faults  when  I  bought  her;  I  had 
to  learn  them  afterward  and  I  sold  her  to  the  woman 
as  the  mon  did  to  me." 

"Yes,  but  that  did  not  justify  you  in  selling  the  cow 
in  that  way,  and  you  should  not  be  preaching  to  us." 
He  seemed  nonpulsed  for  a  few  minutes,  but  soon  ral- 
lied and  said: 

"Look  well  to  yoursel  for  I  dute  not  you  will  find 
some  trouble  in  the  finishing  up." 

When  he  saw  me  coming  out  of  the  office  he  said : 
"I  was  wonderin'  who  you  were  and  I  denna  ken 
noo.  I  denna  ken  whether  I  would  be  ony  better  if 
I  did." 

Then  scanning  me  closely,  said :  "Well,  I  could  na 
say  I  would  be  ony  worse." 

"Well,"  I  repHed,  "I  am  trying  hard  to  behave  so 
that  no  one  by  knowing  me  will  be  any  the  worse." 

"Eh,  but  I  judge  by  yer  tongue  ye  came  from  a 
langer  distance  than  meself,  and  I  dute  not  have  a 
great  experience." 

He  became  quite  interested  in  the  account  I  gave 
him  of  America.     In  the  few  days  I  spent  in  this  town 


204  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

I  became  acquainted  with  some  of  Ireland's  choice 
characters.  The  brother  of  two  of  my  friends,  who 
was  a  fine  fellow,  enlisted  with  the  Imperial  Yeomanry 
and  went  to  the  front  and  when  I  left  Ireland  he  was 
languishing  in  a  Boer  prison. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  205 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

BANGOR  AND  CARRICKFERGUS. 

BANGOR  is  a  seaside  resort  at  the  mouth  of  Bel- 
fast Lough,  on  the  County  Down  side,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Belfast.  There  is  a  mini- 
ature bay  running  in  from  the  sea,  on  one  side  of 
which  slopes  a  beautiful  hill  on  which  are  terraced  a 
number  of  large,  fine  residences.  On  visiting  this 
town  for  the  first  time  I  rode  in  a  large  brake  from 
Newtonards,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  a  very  pictur- 
esque section  of  the  country.  There  were  very  many 
quaint  farm  houses  and  little,  old,  thatched  cottages, 
some  of  them  in  ruins.  We  passed  near  Lord  Dufifer- 
in's  magnificent  estate  on  the  top  of  a  great  hill.  On 
the  estate  is  Hellen's  Tower,  made  famous  by  Tenny- 
son and  Browning  and  other  poets.  Some  part  of 
the  channel  fleet  were  lying  in  and  around  the  har- 
bor, which  drew  large  crowds  of  people  from  Belfast 
and  the  surrounding  country.  It  was  a  gala  day. 
Scores  of  lads  and  lassies  were  thronging  the  sea 
front,  apparently  not  so  much  interested  in  the  fleet 
as  they  were  in  each  other.  The  elder  folks  could  be 
seen  standing  in  groups,  who  evidently  had  not  seen 
each  other  for  sometime,  and  passed  out  the  Irish  wit 
very  freely,  judging  by  the  way  I  heard  them  laugh- 
ing. I  wandered  about  the  town  and  along  the  sea 
front  and  mingled  with  the  crowd  and  presume  none 
of  them  had  the  least  thought  I  was  from  Yankee 
land,  for  some  with  whom  I  got  in  conversation  were 


2o6      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

greatly  surprised  when  they  learned  I  was  one  of 
Uncle  Sam's  sons. 

Several  times  afterward  I  visited  this  town  with 
friends.  One  Saturday  evening- 1  rendered  a  wee  bit 
of  assistance  in  the  entertainment  under  the  head  of 
'The  pleasant  Saturday  night  for  the  people,"  given 
in  one  of  the  halls.  I  there  met  Rev.  Hill,  who  in- 
formed me  he  finished  his  college  course  in  one  of  the 
institutions  in  New  York  City.  To  me  it  was  like 
meeting  some  one  from  home,  and  I  greatly  enjoyed 
the  conversation  about  Old  America.  The  following 
evening  I  went  with  friend  Bradly  out  to  a  very  old 
farm  house  to  a  religious  meeting.  On  our  arrival 
there  we  found  the  old  fashioned  kitchen  crowded 
with  plain  country  folk,  who  joined  heartily  in  singing 
some  of  Moody  and  Sankey's  hymns.  It  was  a  plain, 
simple  service,  but  a  very  profitable  one  to  those  who 
had  gathered  there  from  those  hom.es  in  that  farming 
district.     This  house  was  200  years  old. 

The  ''Home  of  Rest,"  terraced  on  the  side  of  a  great 
hill  overlooking  the  sea,  is  an  institution  that  has 
proven  a  blessing  to  many  over-worked  men  and  wo- 
men of  Belfast  and  other  towns  and  cities  in  Ireland. 
This  is  under  the  direction  of  a  band  of  Christian  men 
of  Belfast,  who  seem  to  possess  the  practical  kind  of 
Christianity,  and  devote  their  time  and  means  to  the 
lifting  up  of  humanity.  There  are  three  fine  brick 
buildings:  One  for  the  mothers  and  their  children; 
another  for  men,  and  one  for  young  women.  Persons 
can  remain  for  a  "fortnight"  for  a  very  moderate  sum 
and,  if  without  sufficient  means,  are  entertained  free 
of  charge.  These  men  are  not  only  interested  in  this 
institution,  but  also  in  mission  work  in  Belfast,  hav- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      207 

ing  planted  two  missions  in  a  district  in  which  they 
were  badly  needed. 

Carrickfurgus. — In  company  with  three  gentlemen, 
one  of  whom  was  a  particular  friend  of  the  Yankee 
Bachelor  and  in  whose  home  he  always  found  a  cordial 
welcome,  both  from  him  and  his  excellent  wife,  I  rode 
out  to  this  old  town,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bel- 
fast Lough,  on  the  County  Antrim  side.  It  was  a 
pleasant  ride  of  about  nine  miles  along  the  shore  road. 
We  passed  a  number  of  estates  and  through  several 
little  towns  and  villages,  among  them  being  White 
Abbey,  a  town  in  which  I  afterward  spent  a  very  pleas- 
ant evening  in  company  with  Rev.  Maguire  at  the 
home  of  a  very  bright,  intelligent  old  lady,  whose  wit 
could  not  be  surpassed.  On  our  way  to  Carrickfur- 
gus, these  gentlemen  related  their  experience  in  mis- 
sion work  and  gave  some  very  amusing  incidents. 
They  visited  a  home  where  the  man  and  his  wife  both 
indulged  in  a  ''wee  drap"  and,  when  charged  with  the 
article,  each  had  a  pugiHstic  turn  of  mind.  When 
they  entered  the  house  they  found  the  woman  lying 
on  the  bed  fearfully  drunk,  and  the  man  only  a  trifle 
better.  He  was  in  the  act  of  placing  her  feet  on  the 
table  which  he  had  placed  near  the  bed.  When  they 
questioned  him  as  to  what  he  intended  to  do,  his  re- 
ply was : 

''Och,  sure,  I'm  goin'  to  brake  her  legs.  It's  the 
only  way  I  can  keep  her  sober." 

But  they  persuaded  him  to  try  some  other  method. 
At  another  time  when  they  went  in  she  was  standing 
beside  an  old  man  lying  on  the  lounge,  bidding  him 
''quit  the  house,"  but  he  had  no  idea  of  changing  his 
quarters  and  would  raise  his  voice  as  she  demanded 


2o8  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAiD. 

him  to  leave  and  sing:  "When  the  roll  is  called  up 
yonder,  I'll  be  there." 

"But  for  yees,"  she  said  to  her  husband,  "I  might 
be  out  convertin'  the  heathen."  With  all  the  labor 
these  men  had  bestowed  on  this  man  and  his  wife, 
they  had  not  succeeded  in  loosening  their  hold  on  the 
bottle. 

When  we  rode  into  the  town  we  found  it  contained 
some  very  ancient  looking  houses.  The  old  castle, 
standing  on  the  sea  front,  was  a  great  military  strong- 
hold during  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion.  It  was 
built  by  John  DeCaursey  in  ii  77.  It  still  remains  in 
a  fair  condition,  but  it  is  useless  as  a  defence.  This 
town  has  quite  a  history.  The  Scotch  troops  under 
General  Monroe  occupied  it  from  1644-1648.  It  was 
re-taken  by  Gen.  Monk  for  Parliament.  King  Wil- 
liam visited  it  in  1690. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD  209 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

PORT  RUSH  AND  GIANTS'  CAUSEWAY. 

@NE  fine  morning  I  boarded  the  train  at  the 
Northern  Countis  station  in  Belfast,  and  very 
much  enjoyed  the  ride  through  County  Antrim 
to  Port  Rush,  a  quiet  seaside  resort.  It  contains  sev- 
eral fine  hotels,  as  well  as  many  splendid  residences. 
None  of  the  seaside  resorts  I  visited  in  England,  Ire- 
land or  Scotland  were  on  such  a  large  scale  as  those 
in  America.  They  have  a  more  substantial  appear- 
ance, as  the  buildings  are  either  brick  or  stone.  The 
bathers  are  not  very  numerous.  The  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen as  a  rule  are  not  allowed  to  bathe  together. 
Possibly  if  there  were  such  restrictions  at  our  seaside 
resorts,  we  would  not  see  such  a  multitude  of  bath- 
ers. They  have  bathing  cars,  attached  to  which  were 
horses  who  drew^  the  car  out  into  the  surf  and  the 
person  stepped  from  the  dressing  room  into  the  surf. 
On  the  beach  was  an  amateur  troupe  with  blackened 
faces,  singing  negro  melodies  and  amusing  the  peo- 
ple with  their  funny  jokes.  In  front  of  one  of  the 
hotels  was  another  troupe  attired  in  white  muslin 
robes  singing,  after  which  they  gave  an  acrobatic  per- 
formance and  were  not  forgetful  to  pass  around  their 
little  tin  cup  for  a  contribution. 

In  my  wanderings  through  the  town  I  came  to  a 
monument  erected  in  memory  of  Dr.  Adam  Clark. 
On  the  stone  was  the  following  inscription : 

"Dr.  Adam  Clark,  born  1760;  died  1832.     A  ser- 

14 


-2IO       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

vant  of  the  Most  High  who,  in  preaching  the  gospel 
with  great  labor  and  apostolic  grace  for  more  than  50 
years,  shewed  to  myriads  the  way  to  salvation.  And 
his  commentary  on  the  Holy  Scripture  and  other 
works  of  piety  and  learning  yet  speak  to  passing  gen- 
erations." 

This  large  granite  monument  stands  near  the  beau- 
tiful Wesleyan  Church  which  bears  the  nam^  ol  this 
wonderful  man.  In  the  Old  City  Road  Chapel  yard 
beside  the  tomb  of  John  Wesley  is  a  marble  slab  mark- 
ing the  spot  where  sleeps  the  dust  of  Dr.  Clark  . 

After  seeing  the  greater  part  of  Port  Rush,  I 
boarded  an  electric  tram  and  rode  down  along  the 
coast  to  the  Giants'  Causeway.  All  along  were  these 
huge  rocks  with  wonderful  formations,  in  which  I  was 
particularly  interested.  Then  stretching  out  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  were  the  beautiful  green  fields 
fringed  with  hedgerows,  making  a  very  fine  picture. 
We  passed  near  the  old  Dunluce  Castle,  standing  on  a 
huge  rock  about  100  feet  above  the  sea  level.  It  is 
connected  to  the  land  by  a  narrow  stone  wall. 

We  stopped  at  Bushmills,  a  town  noted  for  choice 
whisky.  The  town  was  interesting  to  me,  but  the  ar- 
ticle of  which  it  boasted  was  out  of  my  line.  A  short 
ride  from  here  brought  us  to  the  Causeway.  Upon 
stepping  from  the  car  a  man,  accompanied  by  a  "boy, 
came  up  to  me  and  said : 

"I  think  I  will  go  around  with  you." 

Well,  I  concluded  before  he  did,  I  would  learn  who 
he  was.  He  saw  I  was  searching  about  on  the  wall 
of  memory  for  his  photo,  and  said  to  me : 

^T  came  over  on  the  steamer  with  you  from  Amer- 

•      'J 
ica. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      211 

Then  I  remembered  him  as  a  man  for  whom  the  pas- 
sengers had  the  most  profound  respect,  and  I  gladly 
joined  him  and  his  son. 

The  Causeway  is  a  great  curiosity.  The  stones  have 
the  appearance  of  being  hewn  out  by  human  hands 
and  placed  in  position.  The  old  legend  is  the  giants 
attempted  to  build  a  causway  across  to  Scotland  and 
failed.  Well,  the  failure  is  true.  Whether  or  not  the 
other  is,  seems  rather  misty.  We  climbed  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  great  bluff  overlooking  the  sea  from  which 
the  view  was  charming.  Upon  coming  down,  one  of 
the  boatmen  said  to  us : 

"Don't  yees  want  to  go  out  to  the  caves?  I'll  take 
yees  out  for  four  shillin's." 

The  Irish  sea  was  on  her  good  behavior.  So  we 
decided  to  let  Paddy  show  us  the  sights.  As  he  rowed 
us  out  to  the  caves  the  great  sea  cliffs  resembled  a 
huge  wall  standing  along  the  coast.  The  oarsman 
was  full  of  his  subject  and  told  us  some  wonderful 
stories  about  the  caves.  When  wx  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  first  cave  he  said  : 

"This  is  forty-five  feet  high  and  350  feet  in  length." 
As  we  entered  this  weird  looking  place  an  indescriba- 
ble feeling  took  possession  of  me,  and  by  the  expres- 
sion on  the  face  of  the  gentleman  and  his  son  they, 
too,  were  awed.  The  water  rushed  in  through  the 
narrow  passage  and  made  a  hideous  noise  as  it  dashed 
against  the  rocks.  Far  up  on  the  ledge  of  the  rocks 
on  either  side  were  sea  gulls  emitting  some  strange 
notes.  After  the  boatman  had  rowed  some  distance 
into  the  cave,  I  said  to  the  gentleman : 

"This  is  awfully  grand,  but  I  am  not  desirous  of  ex- 
ploring any  farther,"  and  suggested  to  the  boatman 


212  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

to  turn  the  prow  of  our  craft  toward  t\^  entrance. 
On  coming  out  he  said : 

''Now,  I'll  take  yees  to  the  other  cave  which  is 
larger  than  the  one  we  just  left.  It  is  96  feet  high  and 
600  feet  long." 

An  old  man  with  a  pistol  sat  on  a  rock  at  the  en- 
trance, and  after  we  had  entered  he  discharged  his  fire 
arm,  the  report  of  which  was  like  a  cannon  as  it  echoed 
and  re-echoed  through  the  cavern.  This  cave  semed 
even  more  weird  than  the  other.  There  were  hun- 
dreds of  sea  gulls,  young  and  old,  sitting  on  the  rocks. 

"Shall  I  take  yees  any  farther?"  he  asked. 

"No,"  said  the  gentleman,  'T  think  we  have  gone 
far  enough."  There  was  no  objection  raised  by  the 
Yankee,  so  we  soon  found  our  way  out  into  the  sun- 
shine. While  rowing  us  up  to  the  Causeway  he  gave 
us  some  little  account  of  the  dangers  to  which  he  was 
exposed  in  the  fishing  season.  On  reaching  the 
Causeway,  he  said : 

"I'll  land  yees  here  and  yee'l  each  pay  a  six  pence  to 
that  lad  yonder." 

A  syndicate  had  purchased  the  Causeway  and 
charged  an  entrance  fee  which,  I  thought,  preferable 
to  being  beseiged  with  beggars,  as  was  the  case  on 
my  former  visit.  When  we  paid  the  boatman  for  our 
trip,  the  gentleman  asked  him  if  that  was  sufficient. 

"Och,  sure,  that's  what  I  said  I'd  take  yees  for,  but 
the  price  of  a  drink  would  be  in  order,  sir,"he  replied. 

"We  don't  beheve  in  strong  drink,"  I  said. 

"Well,  sure,  I'm  better  wantin'  it  than  gettin'  it," 
was  his  ready  answer. 

He  came  out  on  the  Causeway  and  showed  us  what 
is  called  the  ladies'  fan.     The  stones  are  so  formed  as 


A  YAN*CEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  £13 

to  strikingly  resemble  a  fan.  The  wishing  chair  was 
only  a  short  distance  away,  and  in  coming  to  it  I  said : 
'The  wisest  thing  an  old  bachelor  can  wish  for  is  a 
wife."     As  I  sat  down,  he  said : 

"You  may  be  here  a  year  after  getting  on,  wishing 
you  had  none."  If  some  of  whom  I  have  heard  could 
by  sitting  on  the  wishing  chair  get  disentangled  from 
the  meshes  of  matrimony,  they  would  gladly  cross  the 
wide  sea  to  the  Causeway. 

We  drank  from  a  little  spring  on  the  Causevv^ay  and 
one  would  wonder  how  fresh  water  could  be  found 
there.  The  gentleman  and  his  son  wished  to  go  to 
another  part  of  the  Causeway,  so  J  bade  them  adieu, 
and  came  out  of  the  gate  and  turned  my  steps  in  the 
direction  of  the  electric  tram. 

Near  tke  gate  sat  an  old  woman  with  a  basket,  sell- 
ing trinkets  of  various  kinds.  ''Buy  something,  will 
yees?"  she  said.  While  looking  over  her  stock  of 
goods,  I  said: 

"Aunty,  how  long  have  you  been  about  the  Cause- 
way?" 

"Five  and  twinty  years,  sir." 

"Well,  I  think  you  are  the  same  old  lady  I  met  here 
five  years  ago." 

"It's  quite  likely,  sir.  I'm  the  widee  K — .  Me  hus- 
band and  son  were  both  drowned  at  sea." 

"Yes,  you  are  the  one.  Why,  I  have  talked  of  you 
over  in  America." 

"God  bless  yees  for  that.  The  Americans  are  very 
good  to  me  whin  they  comes  here.  Yees  can  tell 
them  I'm  not  the  same  widee  K —  that  I  was  whin 
yees  was  here  before.  I've  been  converted  and  have 
the  grace  of  God  in  me  heart.** 


214      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Well,  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  sure,  me  daughter  thought  me  dyin'  some- 
time ago,  but  I  told  her  I  was  not  afraid  for  I  was 
depinding  on  the  finished  w^ork  of  Christ."  Then 
looking  up  into  my  face,  said : 

"Yees  see,  I  didn't  die,"  and,  gathering  up  some  of 
her  wares  held  them  up  and  remarked :  "I'm  here  yet 
depindin'  on  the  grace  of  God  for  me  livin'  and  yer 
few  pence  ye'll  be  spindin'  wid  me." 

She  was  a  very  practical  old  woman.  She  did  not 
believe  in  depending  alone  on  the  grace,  but  also  on 
the  few  pence  she  gathered  in.  She  gave  me  some 
sea  shells  along  with  the  articles  I  purchased,  and  as 
she  did,  said :  "Take  these  and  the  poor  old  widee  be- 
stows her  blessin'  wid  'em."  She  continued  to  bless 
me  until  I  was  some  distance  away. 

On  coming  back  to  Port  Rush  I  met  the  proprietor 
of  the  hotel  where  I  stopped  when  in  Londonderry 
on  my  previous  trip  to  Ireland,  who,  when  I  made 
myself  known  to  him,  had  me  go  with  him  to  his  hotel 
and  meet  his  family.  The  day  was  greatly  enjoyed 
by  the  Yankee  at  the  wonderful  Giants'  Causeway. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  215 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

PORTADOWN,  LURGAN,  EESSBROOK  AND  LISBURN. 

FORTADOWN  is  a  town  of  about  10,00  inhab- 
itants. There  are  a  number  of  Hnen  mills  and 
a  few  other  industries.  The  Rev.  A —  invited 
me  to  spend  two  Sabbaths  with  him  and  help  him  in 
the  Sunday  afternoon  service  in  the  hall.  It  seats 
about  800  people,  and  both  Sabbaths  it  was  densely 
crowded,  which  was  the  usual  atendance.  At  one  of 
the  services  he  asked  me  if  I  had  an  American  flag. 

^'Yes,"  I  replied,  'T  have  carried  the  American  flag 
with  me  since  I  left  home." 

When  I  gave  it  to  him  he  placed  it  on  the  stand  be- 
side the  EngHsh  flag,  and  when  he  did  so  the  people 
shouted  and  applauded  lustily. 

'T  am  glad  to  see  those  two  flags  blending  so  har- 
moniously. They  represent  the  two  greatest  coun- 
tries in  the  world,  and  these  two  countries  will  go  side 
by  side  to  civiHze  and  Christianize  this  old  world." 
Then  pointing  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  I  said : 

''My  parents  and  grandparents  were  born  under 
that  flag,  and  why  should  I  not  love  Old  Glory?  And 
my  great-grandparents  were  born  under  the  English 
flag;  why  should  not  I  have  a  profound  respect  for 
Union  Jack?" 

In  a  meeting  in  one  of  the  churches  I  spoke  of  the 
sudden  death  of  an  old  friend  to  whom  I  bade  fare- 
well on  leaving  my  home,  and  remarked  that  he  for- 
merly lived  in  an  adjoining  county  in  a  town  not  far 


2i6  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

from  Portadown.  The  next  evening  a  fine,  intelli- 
gent, young  man  holding  a  position  in  one  of  the 
banks,  came  to  the  manse  and  requested  to  see  me. 

'The  gentleman  you  made  mention  of  last  eve- 
ning," he  said,  'Svas  my  uncle.  We  were  not  aware  of 
his  death,  as  we  have  lost  sight  of  him  since  father's 
death,  who  was  his  youngest  brother.  One  of  my 
brothers  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  and  I  would 
like  for  you  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  old  place." 

I  had  a  great  desire  to  see  the  old  home  of  which 
I  heard  my  old  friend  speak  so  often,  but  the  oppor- 
tunity did  not  come  to  me  to  take  the  trip.  The  fam- 
ily who  kindly  entertained  me  were  very  refined  and 
nice  people.  The  son  of  the  good,  motherly,  old  lady 
was  a  bachelor  who  had  passed  several  milestones  in 
the  advance  of  me,  and  the  daughter  had  been  content 
to  remain  in  the  old  home  and  lift  the  cares  of  the 
household  from  the  shoulders  of  the  good,  old  mother. 

Lurgan. — In  coming  from  Portadown  I  broke  my 
journey  at  Lurgan.  In  my  wanderings  through  this 
typical  Irish  town  I  saw  a  familiar  name  on  a  sign  and 
stopped  and  said  to  the  man  standing  in  the  door  of 
the  shop:  "Have  you  relatives  in  America?" 

"Yes,  sir,  in  Philadelphia.  My  uncle  and  aunt, 
who  had  a  large  family  went  over  there  years  ago." 

He  mentioned  the  names  of  his  uncle's  sons. 

"Why,  sir,  I  know  them  very  well.  One  of  them 
is  an  intimate  friend  of  mine.  They  are  all  members 
of  the  old  Kensington  Methodist  Episcopal  Church," 
I  repHed. 

"Their  father  and  mother  wer®  very  active  member* 
o^  the  Methodist  body  when  they  lived  here,  so  I  have 
heard  my  father  say,"  he  remarked.     Then  pointing 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      217 

to  a  fine,  large  home  at  the  end  of  the  street,  said: 
'Their  aunt  resides  there  and  I  know  she  would  be 
as  pleased  as  I  am  to  hear  from  the  folks."  But  I 
only  had  a  few  minutes  to  make  the  train  and  was 
obliged  to  hurry  away.  Lisburn  is  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant from  Lurgan. 

Lisburn. — This  is  a  town  of  considerable  size,  but 
many  of  the  streets  are  narrow  and  the  houses  very 
ancient  looking.  There  were  several  very  fine  resi- 
dences, surrounded  by  splendid  grounds.  There  is 
also  a  very  pretty  little  park  through  which  I  passed. 
Like  several  of  the  towns  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  the 
linen  business  is  carried  on  quite  extensively. 

A  friend  holding  a  position  in  one  of  the  large  de- 
partment stores  in  Philadelphia,  on  learning  I  was  go- 
ing to  Ireland,  said  to  me : 

"My  father  and  mother  live  at  Lisburn,  and  it  is 
only  a  few  miles  from  Belfast.  Will  you  stop  at  the 
old  home  and  see  the  folks?"  When  I  presented  my 
tall  form  at  the  door  of  this  home  and  introduced 
myself  as  the  friend  of  James,  and  had  a  message  from 
the  lad,  that  mother  and  sister  laid  aside  their  domes- 
tic duties  and  listened  with  rapt  attention  as  I  talked 
of  the  boy  in  far-ofif  America  and  as  soon  as  they 
heard  the  footsteps  of  his  father  they  hurried  to  tell 
him  that  a  friend  of  "Jim's"  was  in  the  parlor  and  his 
greeting  was  quite  as  cordial  as  was  the  mother's. 

"The  boy  keeps  saying  in  his  letters  he  is  coming 
home,  but  we  sometimes  wonder  whether  or  not  we 
will  ever  see  him,"  the  father  remarked.  "Well,"  he 
added,  "when  I  was  a  young  man  I  had  made  all  my 
arrangements  to  go  to  America  and  seek  my  fortune, 
but  when  I  told  my  mother  about  my  proposed  trip, 


2i8      A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD. 

it  nearly  broke  her  heart  and  she  grew  very  ill  and  I 
could  not  ever  think  of  leaving  while  she  lived,  and 
now  I  am  getting  to  be  an  old  man  and  shall  not  at- 
tempt now  to  take  the  journey." 

In  looking  about  the  old  town  I  came  to  a  group  of 
boys  who  were  playing  marbles.  It  was  such  an  ex- 
citing game  I  stopped  to  watch  it  for  a  few  minutes. 
There  were  several  rough  looking  boys  sitting  beside 
an  old  stone  wall  who  were  urging  on  the  game.  It 
came  to  a  point  where  it  seemed  it  was  about  culmin- 
ating in  a  general  row,  so  I  concluded  to  move  on. 
One  of  the  ragged  urchins  shouted : 

"Go  on  wid  yer  game.  This  gintleman's  goin'  to 
put  up  a  shillin'  on  the  lad  that  wins."  Then  turning 
to  me,  said : 

"Yees  have  a  shillin'  for  the  lads,  haven't  yees?" 
The  wisest  thing,  I  thought,  for  me  to  do  was  to 
leave  that  belligerent  crowd  of  lads,  and  did  so  amid 
their  angry  threats  to  batter  each  other. 

Bessbrook. — This  is  a  fine  little,  prosperous  factory 
town,  beautifully  situated.  There  is  not  a  public 
house  found  in  the  town  and  consequently  very  little 
poverty.  The  Society  of  Friends,  which  is  the  lead- 
ing denomination  there,  has  done  a  great  deal  in 
moulding  the  morals  of  the  town.  Mr.  Geo.  W — ,^ 
who  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  out-door  meetings 
in  Ireland,  invited  me  to  spend  a  Sunday  in  that  fine, 
little  town,  but  I  regretted  very  much  in  not  being 
able  to  do  so.  Many  of  the  towns  on  the  line  of  the 
Great  Northern  Railroad  became  quite  famiHar  in  my 
frequent  trips  to  Dublin.  Drogheda,  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  River  Boyne,  is  a  town  of  considerable 
size,  judging  from  the  view  one  gets  from  the  station. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      219 

The  spires  of  Newry  can  be  seen  in  the  distance  as 
one  rides  along  on  the  main  Hne.  It  seemed  to  be  a 
town  of  some  importance.  On  leaving  Old  Ireland  I 
regretted  not  being  able  to  visit  a  number  of  other 
towns  of  interest.  I  should  especially  like  to  have 
gone  to  the  west  coast  where  the  scenery  is  said  to 
be  very  fine.  Nevertheless,  I  sailed  away  from  the 
Green  Isle  having  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
greater  part  of  that  beautiful  country. 


220  A  YAN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXXn. 

ENGLAND. 

BURING  my  sojourn  in  the  British  Isles  a  man 
remarked  to  me : 
"Everything  in  America  seems  to  be  done 
on  such  a  large  scale.  Even  your  storms  and  floods 
and  fires  are  along  wholesale  lines,"  and  added :  "A 
Yankee  visited  England  sometime  ago  and  said  he 
was  afraid  to  go  about  too  much  for  fear  of  stepping 
off  into  the  sea." 

''Well,"  I  replied,  "America  is  a  great  country,  and 
to  form  any  idea  of  its  immensity  you  will  have  to  visit 
it  and  travel  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast,  a 
distance  of  3,000  miles ;  and  from  the  borders  of  Can- 
ada to  Florida,  and  after  you  have  traveled  the  length 
and  breadth  of  our  wonderful  country  you  will  think 
the  Yankees  are  right  in  having  large  ideas  of  Amer- 
ica. You,  too,  have  a  fine  country,"  I  added,  "and  I 
am  not  in  the  same  frame  of  mind  as  was  my  fellow 
countryman  and  am  not  afraid  of  stepping  off  into  the 
sea,  but  my  chief  concern  is  that  I  will  not  be  able  to 
visit  all  the  places  of  interest  in  your  historic  country." 

While  many  cities  and  towns  were  visited  from  the 
borders  of  Scotland  to  the  south  coast,  yet  I  sailed 
from  Old  England  deeply  regretting  being  compelled 
to  drop  from  my  list  many  other  interesting  points. 
England  seems  like  one  large,  cultivated  garden. 
In  all  my  travels  through  it  I  saw  very  little  wood- 
land.    The  climate  in  winter  is  milder  than  in  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      221 

middle  and  northern  parts  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  The  summers  are  usually  very  pleasant. 
Occasionally  a  hot  wave  sweeps  over  the  country,  but 
is  of  very  short  duration.  While  in  London  in  the 
summer  of  1900  the  thermometer  ran  up  to  nearly 
100,  but  soon  dropped  again  to  a  comfortable  tem- 
perature. 

As  one  passes  through  the  British  Isles  he  can  see 
the  farmer  gathering  in  his  wheat,  oats,  hay  and  bar- 
ley, but  there  is  an  absence  of  the  Indian  corn  grown 
so  extensively  in  the  United  States.  Two  ears  of  corn 
and  two  sweet  potatoes  which  I  took  with  me  from 
America  Were  regarded  as  curiosities  by  those  to 
whom  they  were  shown  as  these  products  are  not 
grown  in  the  British  Isles. 

There  are  four  classes  of  people  in  England :  Nobil- 
ity, gentry,  middle  and  the  laboring  class.  In  Amer- 
ica we  have  several  grades,  yet  I  think  the  lines  are 
drawn  heavier  between  the  classes  in  England  than  in 
Yankee  Land.  While  I  did  not  herd  with  the  no- 
bility, yet  regard  many  of  them  as  being  excehent  peo- 
ple, even  though  some  of  them  may  entertain  the 
erroneous  notion  that  they  are  made  of  superior  clay. 
In  meeting  many  of  the  middle  classes  I  found  them 
refined,  intelHgent  and  warm-hearted  people,  as  were 
many  whom  I  met  in  the  lower  walks  of  life.  There 
are  hundreds  of  magnificent  mansions  scattered  over 
the  country,  and  those  occupied  by  the  thousands  of 
the  middle  classes  are  splendid  homes,  while  many  of 
tke  dwellings  of  the  working  people  which  I  entered 
were  neatly  and  comfortably  furnished.  The  major- 
ity of  the  houses,  both  large  and  small,  are  built  of 
brick  and  in  each  room  is  an  open  grate  in  which  soft 


222      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

coal  is  used.  In  many  of  the  old  houses  can  be  seen 
the  open  fire  place  with  seats  arranged  on  either  side. 
One  evening  in  a  little  village  in  the  Midlands,  I  sat 
in  one  of  these  quaint  fire  places  in  a  house  nearly  200 
years  old  and  entertained  the  little  company  gathered 
there  by  giving  them  some  account  of  far-away  Amer- 
ica. 

''Would  you  like  to  visit  America?"  I  asked  one  of 
the  young  men.  He  answered  me  in  his  broad  Wor- 
cestershire dialect,  and  said : 

''I  should  like  to  go  very  much,  but  would  want  to 
go  while  asleep.  I  should  not  care  to  be  conscious 
while  crossing  the  Atlantic." 

On  paying  my  second  visit  to  this  beautiful  country, 
I  sailed  from  Dublin  to  Liverpool. 

"What  will  you  charge  to  take  me  to  the  Liverpool 
steamer  at  North  Wall?"  I  inquired  of  a  Jarvey  in 
Dublin. 

''One  and  six,  sorr,"  he  replied.  Scarcely  had  I 
seated  myself  on  the  Irish  jaunting  car  when  the  Jar- 
vey bade  his  fine  animal  "be  off,"  and  he  did  so  at  a 
high  rate  of  speed.  In  spite  of  my  tenacious  grip,  I 
thought  myself  and  luggage  would  be  thrown  into 
the  street,  but  I  managed  to  hold  on  until  we  reached 
the  quay. 

On  the  steamer  was  a  tall,  gaunt,  old  woman 
dressed  in  very  quaint  style  who  was  selling  apples 
and  clay  pipes.  I  took  a  seat  near  her,  feeling  quite 
sure  she  had  an  abundance  of  pure,  Irish  wit. 

"Here's  yer  apples  and  clay  pipes,"  she  shouted 
with  her  rich  brogue. 

"How  do  you  sell  them,  aunty?"  a  young  man  in- 
quired. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      223 

"They're  a  penny  apiece,  sorr;  these  are  Irish  ap- 
ples and  the  pipes  are  made  of  Irish  clay,"  and  added, 
in  a  way  that  made  us  all  laugh  heartily :  ''And  the  old 
woman  sittin'  in  front  of  yees  is  made  of  a  bit  of  Irish 
clay." 

"I'll  give  you  a  penny  for  three  of  your  pipes,"  said 
a  soldier  to  her.  She  gave  him  a  scathing  look  and 
said: 

"Yees'll  do  what?  Ye'll  do  nothin'  of  the  kind. 
I'm  surprised  that  a  soldier  would  be  tryin'  to  take 
advantage  of  an  old  widee  doin'  her  best  to  make  a 
dacent  livin'." 

Then  turning  to  me,  said :  "Och,  well,  I  had  a  boy  of 
me  own  who  wint  to  the  army  and  whin  his  time  was 
out,  sure  he'd  no  money  to  come  home  wid,  and  I 
had  to  pawn  me  old  dress  and  shawl  to  get  him  back. 
Och,  well,  I  was  his  mother,  and  what  else  could  I  do? 
He's  workin'  now  and  bringin'  me  in  a  few  shillin's; 
that  helps  pay  the  rent.  Yees  knows  if  ye  haven't 
that  the  constable  has  yerself  and  little  bit  of  furniture 
sittin'  out  on  the  street." 

"It  is  a  great  responsibility  rearing  children,"  I  re- 
marked. 

"It  jist  is,  sorr." 

"I  am  a  bachelor  and  have  no  such  responsibilities." 

"Yees  are  what — an  old  bachelor?  Sure,  Idon't 
believe  yees." 

When  I  assured  her  I  was,  she  said : 

"If  yees  are,  I'm  ashamed  of  yees."  Then  looking 
about  at  the  young  women  on  deck,  said :  "I'll  be  get- 
tin'  yees  a  young  girl  here."  Then  peeping  out  from 
under  her  old  black  bonnet  and,  looking  at  me  sharply, 
remarked :  "And  it's  not  a  very  young  one  yer  need- 


224      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ing,  either."  I  joined  in  laughing  with  those  who 
overheard  the  remark,  and  concluded  the  old  woman's 
vision  was  quite  clear  when  she  decided  that  I  was 
too  ancient  for  a  modern  lass. 

"God  bless  the  folks  that  have  bought  me  out. 
Sure  the  world's  pretty  good  to  me,  after  all,"  she  said 
on  leaving  the  boat. 

We  all  felt  indebted  to  the  old  woman  for  the  Irish 
wit  she  so  freely  passed  out. 

A  short  ride  brought  us  out  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lif- 
fey,  and  when  we  came  out  on  the  old  Irish  sea  I  found 
her  behaving  much  better  than  when  I  had  deahngs 
with  her  a  few  years  previous.  Then  she  robbed  me 
of  all  my  provender.  Several  times  in  crossing  this 
body  of  water  I  found  her  rather  troublesome.  On 
coming  from  Dublin  after  a  two  weeks'  visit  just  pre- 
vious to  returning  to  America,  she  was  in  a  very  bad 
temper  and  had  most  of  the  passengers  begging  for 
mercy.  Two  young  men  whom  I  met  on  my  jour- 
ney from  London  to  Dublin  and  whom  I  chanced  to 
meet  returning,  said  to  me : 

"We  never  feel  any  bad  effects  from  a  tossing  on  the 
sea.  We  always  keep  out  on  deck  and  face  the 
breeze." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "my  only  safety  is  in  lying  on  my 
back  and  I  think  I  will  at  once  take  that  position  here 
on  deck."  All  about  me  were  those  whose  laughter 
had  been  turned  into  a  cry  of  distress.  In  a  short 
time  one  of  these  young  nien  who  had  boasted  of 
being  sea  worthy  leaned  over  the  rail  of  the  steamer 
and  hopelessly  cast  his  "bread  upon  the  water."  His 
brother  stood  beside  him  with  a  woe  begone  look  and 
in  a  few  minutes  he,  too,  was  disposing  of  his  stock. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      225 

''Don't  be  so  generous/'  I  remarked  to  them. 
They  made  no  reply,  but  there  was  an  expression  on 
their  faces  that  spoke  volumes.  It  amused  me,  even 
though  not  feeling  very  comfortable  myself,  as  I  saw 
those  two  six-foot  lads  hanging  in  almost  equal  pro- 
portions over  the  rail,  paying  tribute  to  Neptune. 
One  of  them  remarked  to  the  other  after  landing  that 
he  "looked  like  a  dying  duck  in  a  thunder  storm." 

Returning  to  my  trip  to  Liverpool — soon  the  Hill 
of  Howth  and  Ireland's  eye  and  the  peaks  of  the 
Wicklow  mountains  disappeared  and  darkness  set- 
tled down  upon  us  and  my  tall  form  was  soon  tucked 
away  for  the  night. 

On  coming  out  on  deck  the  next  morning  we  were 
steaming  up  the  river  Mersey  within  sight  of  the  large 
and  busy  city  of  Liverpool.  My  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  the  miles  of  stone  docks  in  which  were  ves- 
sels of  various  kinds  hailing  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  There  is  nothing  to  compare  with  these  huge 
stone  docks,  of  which  Liverpool  can  well  boast.  Be- 
fore crossing  the  Atlantic,  I  fancied  that  Liverpool 
was  a  city  of  very  little  importance  outside  of  its  ship- 
ping, but  was  greatly  surprised  on  learning  it  was  a 
manufacturing  city,  with  a  population  of  nearly  700,- 
000.  As  we  walked  through  its  crowded  streets  and 
saw  the  many  large,  handsome  buildings  and  finely  ar- 
ranged shops,  I  remarked  to  my  friend :  "Did  you  ex- 
pect to  find  such  a  large  and  thriving  city?" 

"No,"  he  replied,  "I  judged  it  was  scarcely  worth  a 
visit  by  the  way  the  tourists  give  it  the  go  by." 

Many  persons,  as  soon  as  they  land,  take  the  train 
and  hurry  away  to  the  great  city  of  London,  little 
thinking  there  is  so  much  of  interest  in  Liverpool. 


15 


226  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  '    '^ 

Some  of  my  friends  in  America  had  requested  me  to 
eall  on  their  relatives  living  near  Littleboro,  and  also 
others  living  at  Oldham.  "What  station  will  I  take  a 
train  for  Littleboro?"  I  inquired  of  several  persons. 

"I  con't  say/'  was  their  answer.  It  must  be  prop- 
erly named,  I  thought,  for  it  is  so  little  that  no  one 
seemed  to  know  of  it.  Finally  I  received  the  informa- 
tion of  one  of  the  guards  at  the  railway  station.  On 
learning  it  was  beyond  Oldham,  I  took  the  train  for 
the  latter  place,  breaking  my  journey  for  a  short  time 
at  the  city  of  Manchester.  The  smoke  from  its  hun- 
dreds of  industries  rose  in  great  clouds  over  the  city. 
Like  Liverpool,  it  contains  many  large  and  massive 
buildings,  and  its  streets  are  lined  with  stores  or 
"shops"  that  seemed  as  attractive  as  hands  could  make 
them.  They  were  doing  a  thriving  business,  judging 
from  the  crowds  of  people  at  the  counters.  However, 
many  of  them  might  have  been  like  some  persons  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic  who  exhaust  the  patience  of 
the  clerks  by  having  nearly  the  entire  stock  shown 
them  and  finally  leave  without  making  a  purchase. 

Manchester  is  at  the  head  of  the  great  ship  canal. 
There  were  several  large  crafts  unloading  cotton, 
which  I  presume  came  from  "away  down  South  in 
Dixie."  The  population  of  the  city  is  nearly  500,000, 
and  in  the  residential  portion  can  be  seen  many  mag- 
nificent homes. 

A  short  ride  from  Manchester  brought  me  to  Old- 
ham. From  its  appearance  it  is  a  very  ancient  town, 
but  quite  a  busy  place.  "Is  the  proprietor  in?"  I  in- 
quired of  a  bright  young  man  at  the  business  house  of 
the  gentleman  on  whom  I  was  to  call. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      227 

*'No,  sir,"  he  replied.  "If  you  wish  to  see  him  on 
important  business  I  will  give  you  his  home  address." 

"I  am  from  America,  and  have  a  message  from  rel- 
atives, but  will  not  have  time  to  call  at  his  home  as  I 
am  on  my  way  to  Littleboro." 

''He'll  be  disappointed  in  not  seeing  you,  for  I  pre- 
sume he  is  anxious  to  hear  from  the  folks." 

"At  which  station  will  I  take  a  train  for  Littleboro?" 
I  inquired. 

"From  the  Mumps  station,"  he  replied.  A  strange 
name,  I  thought,  for  a  railway  station.  On  reaching 
there  I  inquired  the  time  of  the  train  leaving  and,  get- 
ting the  information,  seated  myself  to  await  the  com- 
ing of  the  train,  thinking  it  left  from  the  same  plat- 
form as  did  the  other. 

"This  train  for  Littleboro?"  I  asked  of  the  guard  as 
it  came  rolling  into  the  station. 

"No,  this  train  does  not  stop  there,"  was  his  reply. 
Shortly  after,  another  train  came  in  and  on  inquiry  re- 
ceived the  same  answer. 

"You  informed  me  the  train  left  for  Littleboro  at  a 
certain  tim.e,  and  two  have  already  gone  and  they  in- 
formed me  that  neither  of  them  stopped  there,"  I  said 
to  the  guard. 

"Oh,  sir,"  he  replied,  "it  leaves  from  yon  sidin', 
and  there  will  be  no  train  now  for  an  hour." 

It  was  as  much  trouble  to  get  away  from  Mumps 
station  as  it  was  tussling  with  a  case  of  mumps.  I 
took  a  stroll  through  the  town  just  as  the  many  large 
mills  of  various  kinds  were  sending  out  their  hungry 
employees  for  their  noon-day  meal.  Many  of  the 
men  and  women  wore  clogs  and  there  was  one  grand 
clatter  as  they  brought  their  wooden  soles  down  on 


228  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

the  pavements.  Many  of  the  women  wore  white  sun- 
bonnets,  and  as  I  stemmed  this  great  tide  of  humanity 
I  saw  some  of  them  peeping  out  from  the  sides  of  their 
bonnets  trying  to  carry  on  a  flirtation  with  the  tall 
Yankee  bachelor;  but  I  concluded  that  to  acknowl- 
edge the  sly  glances  of  these  English  lassies  would 
scarcely  be  in  keeping  with  one  who  had  long  since 
left  the  summer  time  of  youth,  so  pressed  my  way 
through  the  sun-bonnet  brigade  without  answering 
back. 

I  found  the  train  waiting  at  "yon  sidin'  "  on  my 
arrival  at  the  station  and  shortly  after  seating  myself 
in  the  compartment  was  speeding  away  toward  my 
destination.  In  front  of  me  sat  a  fine  looking  gentle- 
man who  soon  engaged  in  conversation  with  me. 
Sitting  near  him  was  a  plainly  dressed  woman  who  was 
well  furnished  with  tongue,  and  used  it  quite  freely 
with  us.  At  one  of  the  nearby  stations  a  tall,  rustic 
looking  man  came  into  the  compartment,  seating  him- 
self beside  me,  and  as  he  did  so  spoke  to  this  woman. 
She  gave  him  a  very  inquiring  look  and  said :  "I  don't 
seem  to  know  you. 

"1  met  you  at  Mrs.  Adley's  some  time  ago." 

"Oh,  yes;  I  remember  you  now,"  she  repHed,  and 
added:  "Poor  woman,  she's  had  a  deal  of  trouble 
with  her  husband.  If  he  had  been  as  hard-workin' 
as  she,  they  would  have  had  a  deal  of  money  by  this 
time." 

"Oh,  well,"  he  said,  "that's  the  way ;  some  men  get 
good  wives  and  some  poor  ones.  My  first  wife  was  an 
angel,  but  the  one  I  have  now  is  far  from  it.  She 
went  away  on  her  holidays  last  week,  and  I  told  her 
I  didn't  care  if  she  never  came  back,  but  for  the  chil- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      229 

dren.  Why,  she's  not  satisfied  with  anything.  I 
give  her  all  my  Svage'  and  then  she's  not  content. 
Why,  my  life  is  bothered  out  with  her." 

The  man  was  full  of  his  subject  and  it  seemed  to  af- 
ford him  relief  to  be  able  to  ventilate  himself.  When 
he  left  the  train  I  said  to  the  old  gentleman:  'That 
man  does  not  seem  to  have  any  curtains  at  his  win- 
dows. He  lays  bare  his  domestic  troubles  to  the  pub- 
lic," and  further  remarked :  ''Marriage  is  a  failure  in 
many  cases." 

He  straightened  up  and  looking  me  in  the  eye,  said : 
"Not  in  mine,  sir;  I  have  a  good  wife  and  nine  chil- 
dren. I  have  been  married  over  forty  years  and  love 
my  wife  better  than  ever.  Why,  sir,  I  owe  all  my  suc- 
cess in  life  to  her.  I  was  a  gambler  when  first  married 
and  her  good  counsel  and  Christian  example  led  me  to 
seek  the  better  fife." 

The  old  man's  eloquence  on  the  matrimonial  life 
fairly  shook  the  foundations  of  my  idea  of  single  bless- 
edness. When  the  old  man  contracted  the  love  fever 
in  the  long  ago  he  took  it  properly.  So  many  who 
once  had  a  severe  attack  are  now  shaking  with  a  chill ; 
rather  an  uncomfortable  way  of  living  with  the  home 
thermometer  down  below  zero. 

An  old  colored  woman  came  to  a  store  begging  one 
day,  and  when  one  of  the  clerks  dropped  something 
in  her  basket,  she  said : 

"That's  right;  help  de  widows.  However,  I 
needn't  be  one  without  I  want  to.  But  this  old  love 
am  so  adulterated  these  days  there  am  no  trusting  it." 
The  old  colored  woman's  idea  of  this  old  love  being 
rather  weakened  down  was  about  correct. 

This  old  gentleman  left  the  train  at  Rockdale  where 


230      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

he  informed  me  he  resided,  and  which,  he  said,  was  a 
town  of  70,000  inhabitants.  A  short  ride  from  this 
town  brought  me  to  Littleboro.  On  my  arrival  I 
found  I  would  have  a  walk  of  nearly  two  miles  over  a 
very  hilly  road  to  the  home  of  the  other  relative  of  my 
friend.  The  wind  was  blowing  quite  briskly  and  I 
found  it  rather  difBcult  to  propel  my  huge  frame 
against  a  head  wind  to  the  top  of  those  steep  hills. 
With  my  breathing  apparatus  a  ''wee  bit"  impaired,  I 
finally  reached  this  little  summer  resort,  the  greater 
part  of  which  was  built  around  a  beautiful  little  sheet 
of  water. 

''Could  you  tell  me  where  Mr.  Smith  lives?"  I  in- 
quired of  a  man  who  was  holding  up  one  corner  of  a 
public  house. 

"In  yon  'ouse,"  he  replied,  eying  me  sharply,  as  if 
he  thought  for  the  information  he  was  entitled  to  a 
fee.  My  knock  was  answered  by  an  old  man  who 
opened  the  door  ajar  and  peeped  out.  "What's 
wanted?"  he  said. 

"Is  Mrs.  Smith  in?"  for  it  was  she  for  whom  I  had 
the  message. 

"No,  she's  not  here,  now,"  he  replied  in  a  sad  tone 
of  voice,  and  began  closing  the  door. 

"I  am  from  America  and  have  a  message  for  her 
from  her  relatives,"  I  remarked. 

He  swung  the  door  open  wide  and  said :  "Come  in, 
sir.  I  have  been  expecting  a  gentleman  to  call  from 
America,  but  was  not  aware  you  were  the  one." 

As  he  led  the  way  into  the  room  he  pointed  to  the 
bed  in  the  corner  and  said  in  a  broken  tone  of  voice : 
"My  poor  wife  died  there  last  March  and  I  have  been 
so  very  lonely  since,  I  am  trying  to  pack  up  to  get 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  231 

away,  but  I  am  so  bothered  I  can't  do  much.  Can 
you  remain  with  me  a  few  days?"  he  asked;  but  I  had 
to  decHne  his  kind  invitation  as  I  was  on  my  way  to 
Canterbury,  and  expected  to  break  my  journey  at 
Birmingham  and  London.  There  was  such  a  gloom 
pervaded  the  old  house,  whose  sole  occupant  was  the 
heart-broken  old  man,  that  I  was  glad  to  depart  after 
giving  him  some  account  of  his  wife's  dear  ones  in 
America.  The  day  was  nearly  done  when  I  arrived 
in  Liverpool.  The  evening  was  spent  with  friends 
v/ith  whom  I  stopped  a  few  days  previous  to  sailing  for 
home  on  my  first  trip.  The  family  circle  of  these  two 
families  had  been  broken  by  death  and  on  inquiry  as 
to  the  whereabouts  of  some  of  the  young  folks  who 
made  the  evening  so  pleasant  for  all  of  us  on  the  pre- 
vious visit,  was  informed  that  they  were  in  their  own 
homes,  looking  after  the  little  ones. 

BIRMINGHAM. 

The  next  morning  I  left  for  Birmingham.  It  was  a 
long  journey,  through  tunnels,  villages,  large  and 
small  towns,  and  over  the  peaks  of  Derbyshire  where 
the  scenery  was  charming.  On  reaching  Derby, 
which  is  a  very  large  town,  I  knew  that  our  journey 
was  nearly  completed.  We  ran  into  the  immense 
New  street  station  at  Birmingham,  which  is  one  of  the 
great  centres  of  the  London  &  North  Western,  Mid- 
land and  Great  Western  roads.  There  seems  to  be 
no  end  to  trains  arriving  and  departing  from  this  sta- 
tion. When  I  stepped  from  the  train  on  one  of  the 
many  platforms  it  was  with  a  different  feeling  than 
when  I  arrived  there  in  that  summer  evening  of  1894. 
Then  I  had  just  landed  for  the  first  time  on  the  shore 


232      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

of  Old  England  and  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
but  I  had  traveled  over  the  country  and  walked  the 
streets  of  Birmingham  so  often  since  then  that  it  was 
quite  home-like.  This  city  has  a  population  of  500,- 
000  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturing  places  in 
the  British  Isles.  It  is  said  that  almost  everything 
that  can  be  made  of  metal  is  manufactured  in  this 
beautiful  city.  Like  Glasgow,  it  has  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  governed  cities  in  the  world. 
As  one  walks  through  its  nicely  kept  streets,  he  is 
convinced  that  whoever  manages  that  part  of  the 
affair  of  the  city  did  it  properly.  The  long  line  of  fine 
business  houses  and  streets  thronged  with  well 
dressed  people  leads  one  to  think  he  is  in  no  mean  city. 
Joseph  Chamberlain,  one  of  Old  England's  great 
statesmen,  resides  in  this  city. 

On  coming  out  to  New  street,  I  wended  my  way  up 
to  the  Harborne  'bus,  which  stood  in  front  of  a  very 
old  church.  Seating  myself  on  the  top  of  the  'bus, 
was  soon  on  my  way  through  the  busy  streets  out  to 
Harborn,  a  beautiful  suburban  town  about  a  mile  from 
the  city  proper.  When  we  came  to  the  five  ways,  we 
took  the  old  Harborn  road,  on  either  side  of  which 
were  many  splendid  homes,  surrounded  with  large 
gardens,  very  tastefully  arranged.  On  my  arrival  at 
what  I  was  pleased  to  call  "my  English  home,"  when 
in  England  before,  I  was  received  very  cordially  by  the 
friends.  Some  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  old 
home.  The  few  years  had  told  some  little  on  the 
head  of  the  house  and  his  good  wife.  The  young  man 
who  frequently  called  and  was  so  deeply  interested  in 
the  young  lady,  had  taken  her  to  the  old  church  near 
by  and  had  the  nuptial  knot  tied,  and  were  in  a  nest 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      233 

of  their  own  with  a  young  birdhng,  who  made  it  all 
the  brighter  by  his  presence.  The  little  girl  of  thir- 
teen summers  had  stepped  over  into  womanhood,  and 
evidently  had  an  idea  of  following  her  elder  sister's  ex- 
ample, for  I  saw  a  lad  looking  in  her  direction  with 
expectations.  The  bright,  intelligent  young  man 
who  made  my  stay  in  that  home  so  pleasant,  had  not 
disappointed  the  fond  hopes  of  his  father  and  mother, 
for  he  had  become  a  successful  merchant  in  the  great 
city  of  London.  The  little  boy  whose  merry  voice  I 
so  often  heard  shouting  with  the  boys  at  play  around 
the  school  house  near  by  had  succeeded  in  packing 
his  head  with  sufficient  knowledge  to  have  secured  a 
good  position  in  one  of  the  many  large  banks  in  Bir- 
mingham. 

On  Sabbath  we  attended  service  in  the  old  church, 
whose  tower  is  800  years  old.  The  former  part  of  the 
service  was  very  elaborate,  after  which  the  rector  de- 
livered a  very  able  and  helpful  sermon.  He  packed 
more  of  the  Gospel  in  his  discourse  than  many  to 
whom  I  have  listened.  There  is  a  beautiful  yard  sur- 
rounding the  church,  in  which  sleep  many  whose 
forms  in  the  long  ago  were  familiar  on  the  streets  of 
Harborn.  Near  the  church  is  the  magnificent  man- 
sion of  Walter  Chamberlain,  Esq.,  brother  of  the 
statesman.  It  is  one  of  the  most  complete  homes  in 
England.  The  extensive  grounds  that  surround  it 
are  filled  with  choice  plants  and  flowers.  There  are 
also  some  animals  and  huge  birds  from  far  away  coun- 
tries. Some  time  ago  death  claimed  their  eldest 
son,  a  bright,  promising  lad,  and  since  then,  owing 
to  the  gloom  that  seems  to  pervade  this  beautiful  res- 
idence, they  have  resided  in  another  palatial  home  a 


234      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

short  distance  away.  The  head  gardener,  whom  I 
previously  met,  took  great  pleasure  in  showing  me 
through  the  grounds  and  immense  hot  houses. 

SHENLEY  FIELDS  SCHOOLS. 

One  day  we  walked  over  to  the  Shenley  Fields 
Schools.  It  was  a  very  enjoyable  walk  of  nearly  two 
miles.  We  went  for  some  distance  along  a  beautiful 
old  road,  passing  a  number  of  very  old  farm  houses. 
A  friend  of  the  gentleman  with  me  lived  on  one  of 
these  farms.  We  stopped  for  a  short  time,  and  were 
interested  in  looking  about  the  place.  The  house 
and  brick  barns  had  the  appearance  of  having  stood 
for  centuries.  There  was  once  a  small  castle  on  this 
old  farm.  Some  part  of  the  ruins  were  still  remaining. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  destroyed  by  Cromwell.  A 
short  walk  across  the  meadows  brought  us  to  the 
schools.  This  home  for  friendless  children  is  beauti- 
fully located  on  a  hill  overlooking  a  fine  stretch  of 
country,  about  seven  miles  from  Birmingham.  It 
consists  of  a  number  of  two-story  brick  cottages  and 
workshops  and  a  chapel.  The  superintendent,  Mr. 
D — ,  whom  I  had  previously  met,  took  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure  in  showing  us  through.  This  gentleman 
seemed  to  have  won  the  hearts  of  the  little  tots,  as  well 
as  the  older  ones,  judging  from  the  pleased  look  on 
their  faces  as  we  passed  through  the  different  cottages. 

A  man  and  his  wife  have  charge  of  a  cottage,  hav- 
ing about  twenty  children  under  their  care.  The  chil- 
dren style  them  '"father"  and  ''mother."  The  "fath- 
er" learns  the  boys  the  trade  he  follows,  while  the 
"mother"  teaches  the  girls  the  art  of  housekeeping 
and  of  plying  the  needle.  There  were  over  a  hun- 
dred children  in  the  school  who  seemed  very  con- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      235 

tented  and  happy.  Many  of  them  had  never  been  ac- 
customed to  home  comforts.  The  children  reared  in 
these  homes  are  educated  and  nicely  trained  and  well 
fitted  to  go  out  and  meet  the  responsibihties  of  life. 
We  were  informed  that  many  had  gone  out  from  this 
institution  who  were  filling  good  positions  and  were 
reflecting  great  credit  on  the  home.  We  met  several 
who  had  returned  on  a  visit.  One  of  them  was  a 
young  man  attired  in  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  naval  suits. 
He  informed  us  that  he  arrived  in  America  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Spanish-American  war  and  shortly 
afterward  enlisted  in  the  navy  and  was  in  the  engage- 
ment at  Santiago.  "Our  ship  is  out  cruising  and  we 
are  lying  for  a  few  days  at  Portsmouth,  so  I  got  a  leave 
of  absence  and  ran  down  home,'  he  said. 

After  a  brief  stay  at  Harborn,  I  hurried  away  to 
another  section  of  England. 

NORTHAMPTON. 

This  is  a  fine  old  town,  with  a  population  of  50,000. 
It  dates  well  back  in  the  past.  Twenty  parliaments 
were  held  here  between  the  twelfth  and  fourteenth 
centuries.  The  castle,  with  the  exception  of  one 
tower,  was  demolished  in  1662.  The  town  is  noted 
for  its  extensive  boot  and  shoe  manufactories.  Its 
business  streets  are  narrow  but  contain  some  very  fine 
stores.  The  city  hall  is  a  very  large,  substantial  build- 
ing. On  going  through  it  I  saw  a  large  shield  with 
the  names  of  the  mayors  of  the  city  from  1377. 
There  are  a  number  of  old  churches,  some  of  which  I 
visited.  In  the  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  were  the 
names  of  the  incumbents  from  1226  to  1890.  There 
was  also  a  slab  on  which  were  brass  plates  with  carved 


236      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

figures,  representing  one  Gitry  Coole  and  his  two 
wives  and  twelve  children.  He  died  in  1640.  The 
old  St.  Peter's  Church  was  a  time-worn  structure. 
The  list  of  rectors  on  the  board  at  the  entrance  dates 
from  1220  to  1873,  the  first  being  Thomas  De  Fisker- 
ton.  In  passing  along  one  of  the  streets  I  saw  a  house 
bearing  the  date  of  1595.  On  the  front  was  a  coat  of 
arms.  This  house  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  John 
Howard,  who  was  a  friend  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  The 
house  once  occupied  by  Cromwell  is  built  of  iron- 
stone and  looks  substantial  enough  to  stand  for  cen- 
turies. 

I  was  invited  to  spend  a  few  days  in  the  home  of  a 
gentleman  whom  I  met  on  the  train  going  to  Lx)ndon 
in  1894,  and  who  showed  me  such  great  kindness  on 
my  arrival  in  that  great  city.  I  said  to  him  and  his 
good  wife  that  day  in  Exeter  Hall :  "You  have  erected 
a  monument  of  kind  deeds  that  I  will  never  take 
down." 

On  entering  their  splendid  home  they  gave  me 
abundant  proof  that  they  still  possessed  the  real 
essence  of  kindness.  One  morning  we  took  a  drive 
to  Little  Brington,  in  which  is  the  house  of  George 
Washington's  ancestors.  It  is  about  seven  miles 
from  Northampton.  In  passing  through  this  fine  sec- 
tion of  Northamptonshire,  one  of  my  friends  pointed 
out  the  ruins  of  an  old  church  near  the  battlefield  at 
Nasby.  It  was  said  to  have  been  badly  damaged  by 
Oliver  Cromwell.  One  would  think  that  Cromwell's 
destructive  bump  was  well  developed  by  the  number 
of  places  he  is  said  to  have  destroyed.  Little  Bring- 
ton is  a  very  quaint  little  town.  The  house  in  which 
lived  George  Washington's  ancestors  looked  ancient 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      237 

enough  to  have  been  built  many  centuries  ago.  Law- 
rence Washington,  who  was  once  a  very  prosperous 
man,  but  who  met  with  reverses  which  left  him  desti- 
tute, accepted  of  the  offer  of  his  friend.  Lord  Spencer, 
and  moved  into  the  little  cottage  in  Little  Brington  in 
the  year  1606.  Shortly  after  occupying  his  cottage, 
death  claimed  one  of  their  children  and  that,  with 
their  financial  loss,  suggested  the  inscription  which 
they  placed  over  the  doorway  of  their  little  home. 
This  is  it  as  it  reads : 

'The  Lord  giveth,  the  Lord  taketh  away.  Blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord.     Constructed  1606." 

In  a  few  years  the  tide  of  fortune  changed  with  him 
and  swept  him  over  into  more  comfortable  circum- 
stances, so  that  he  was  enabled  to  move  to  London, 
which  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  educate  his  large 
family.  He  had  eight  sons  and  nine  daughters.  Two 
of  liis  sons  emigrated  to  Virginia,  U.  S.  A.,  in  1657. 
Their  names  were  John  and  Lawrence.  From  the 
former  descended  George  Washington,  whose  mem- 
ory is  dear  to  fevery  true  American. 

The  next  point  of  interest  was  the  St.  Mary's  Parish 
Church  at  Great  Brington.  It  was  built  in  1019. 
The  present  arch  was  erected  in  1422.  When  we 
came  to  the  church  we  found  the  janitress  removing 
the  decorations  used  at  their  autumnal  service.  On 
coming  to  the  chancel  we  saw  a  floor  stone  with  coat 
of  arms.  On  the  stone  was  the  name  of  Lawrence 
Washington,  with  date  161 6,  and  also  the  name  of 
Margaret  (Butler)  his  wife.  There  was  also  a  slab 
with  the  name  of  Robert  Washington,  his  younger 
brother,  and  of  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  wdth  date  1622. 
The  janitress  was  removing  the  decorations  from  the 


238  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

scone  bearing  the  name  of  Lawrence  Washington  and, 
learning  I  was  from  America,  said  to  me : 

*  Would  you  like  to  have  some  of  these  decorations 
from  the  tomb  of  one  of  the  ancestors  of  your  first 
President?" 

Like  every  other  American,  I  possess  relic-picking 
propensities  and  accepted  of  the  little  bundle  of  wheat 
and  carried  it  across  to  Yankee  Land  with  me.  Some 
of  my  English  friends  said  that  we  Yankees  would 
carry  away  nearly  all  England  if  it  was  possible.  We 
spent  some  time  in  this  interesting  old  church,  then 
drove  along  a  fine  road  to  the  very  old  town  of  Moul- 
ton,  in  which  is  the  Carey  Memorial  Church.  It  is 
built  on  the  site  of  one  of  whom  William  Carey  was 
the  founder.  In  this  Httle  church  is  a  tablet  in  mem- 
ory of  this  good  man.  He  was  born  in  Sunderland, 
and  one  of  my  friends,  who  was  born  in  the  same  town, 
said  that  ''Carey  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  but  was 
not  considered  very  skillful."  He  soon  discovered 
that  was  not  his  calling,  and  went  out  into  the  world 
to  induce  men  to  get  shod  with  the  ''preparation  of  the 
Gospel,"  and  proved  to  be  a  grand  success.  He  was 
the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Moulton  for  four  years,  af- 
terwards became  the  evangelist  to  India  and  professor 
of  Sancrist  in  the  college  of  Fort  William.  He  was 
also  the  father  of  modern  missions.  He  died  at  Ser- 
ampore,  June  9,  1832.  The  day  was  thoroughly  en- 
joyed with  these  friends  in  visiting  these  two  inter- 
esting old  towns. 

My  friend  Mr.  J — ,  one  of  the  gentlemen  I  met  at 
the  Exeter  Hall  in  London,  where  was  held  the 
world's  convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation in  1894,  invited  me  to  pay  him  a  visit  at  his 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  239 

liome  in  Northampton  on  my  return  from  Ireland. 
On  doing  so  I  found  Northampton  one  sea  of  flags, 
and  many  of  the  buildings  gaily  decorated.  On  in- 
quiry I  learned  it  was  opening  day  of  the  Northamp- 
tonshire Agricultural  Fair.  The  streets  of  the  old 
town  were  crowded  with  people  making  their  way  out 
to  the  grounds.  My  friend  not  being  able  to  leave  his 
business,  I  sallied  forth  alone  to  see  the  show. 
Shortly  after  entering,  the  mayor,  attired  in  his  official 
robes,  accompanied  by  several  members  of  the  town 
council,  came  into  the  grounds,  headed  by  a  brass 
band  and  formally  opened  the  fair.  There  was  a  very 
fine  display  of  stock  in  which  I  became  intensely  in- 
terested. There  were  several  cows  of  extraordinary 
size,  the  like  of  which  I  have  not  seen  in  America. 
The  agents  in  great  numbers  were  there  advertising 
their  latest  improved  farming  implements  and  var- 
ious other  articles  that  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
people.  Uncle  "J^P^he"  and  Aunt  "J^i'^'^sh"  and  the 
children  were  in  from  the  old  farm  seeing  the  sights. 
While  there  were  no  peanut  venders  for  the  people  to 
patronize,  yet  there  were  other  tempting  articles  that 
drew  the  coppers  from  their  purses.  It  seemed  quite 
similar  to  the  agricultural  fairs  which  I  have  attended 
in  America.  In  the  evening  many  of  the  buildings 
were  beautifully  illuminated.  Jeffry  &  Co.'s  large 
furniture  stores  were  finely  decorated  and  the  illumin- 
ations attracted  the  attention  of  the  immense  crowds 
on  the  streets. 


240  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXXni. 

BEDFORD. 

WHEN  a  small  boy,  I  took  great  pleasure  in 
reading  that  wonderful  book,  entitled  "Pil- 
grim's Progress,"  written  by  John  Bunyan, 
whose  home  at  one  time  was  in  Bedford.  It  was  a  com- 
paratively short  ride  from  Northampton.  On  my  ar- 
rival I  called  at  the  little  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  get  some  in- 
formation about  this  interesting  old  place.  A  young 
man  of  whom  I  asked  some  information,  said  to  me : 

"1  have  a  little  leisure  time  and,  if  you  like,  will  ac- 
company you  out  to  Elstow,  which  is  something  over 
a  mile  from. Bedford." 

I  promptly  accepted  his  ofifer  and  we  were  soon 
making  our  way  through  the  quaint  old  streets  along 
which  this  good  man  once  traveled.  We  crossed  the 
bridge  spanning  the  River  Ouse,  a  narrow  stream  that 
winds  its  way  out  through  a  very  pretty  section  of  the 
country.  A  short  walk  brought  us  to  the  very  an- 
cient village  of  Elstow.  "Here  is  Bunyan's  house," 
said  the  young  man,  as  we  stopped  in  front  of  a  small 
cottage.  We  were  met  at  the  door  by  the  attendant 
who  took  great  pleasure  in  showing  us  through,  and 
as  she  did  so,  said : 

"This  is  the  house  to  which  John  Bunyan  brought 
his  young  bride  and  where  he  lived  during  his  early 
married  life,"  and  pointed  to  where  once  stood  his 
blacksmith  shop.  She  was  not  forgetful  to  call  our 
attention  to  a  number  of  souvenirs  for  sale  in  the  little 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      241 

room,  with  the  ceiling  of  which  my  head  came  in  close 
touch.  From  this  old  house  we  went  to  the  church- 
yard which  surrounds  the  very  old  church  in  which 
Bunyan  was  baptized  when  an  infant,  and  in  which 
Christopher  Hall  preached  the  sermon  which  was  the 
means  of  his  conversion.  While  reading  some  of  the 
quaint  epitaphs  on  the  old  moss-covered  tombs,  two 
men  came  into  the  yard.  The  young  man  said,  on 
seeing  them : 

'The  younger  of  those  two  men  was  in  America 
some  time  ago  lecturing  on  The  life  of  Bunyan.'  " 

When  the  lowering  clouds  began  to  shake  down  on 
us  great  sheets  of  water,  we  all  took  refuge  in  the 
doorway  of  the  old  bell  tower. 

'This  young  man  tells  me  you  have  been  to  Amer- 
ica?" I  remarked  to  the  younger  man. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  was  over  there  several  months,"  he  re- 
plied. In  further  conversation,  learning  that  he  had 
lectured  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  my  own  city  and  was  ac- 
quaintd  with  a  number  of  my  friends,  I  felt  as  though 
I  was  meeting  some  one  from  home. 

After  the  storm  abated,  he  secured  the  keys  of  the 
church  and  shovv^ed  us  through.  We  greatly  admired 
the  beautifull}^  stained  glass  windows  representing 
some  of  the  Bible  scenes  and  characters.  There  was 
a  small  door  in  the  rear  of  the  church  which,  he  said, 
in  former  years  was  opened  daily  for  those  who  wished 
to  come  to  the  church  for  worship  and  it  was  consid- 
ered an  evidence  that  a  person  was  deeply  in  earnest 
when  they  entered  the  church.  "This  little  door,"  he 
said,  "is  supposed  to  have  suggested  to  the  mind  of 
Bunyan  the  wicket  gate  mentioned  in  his  Pilgrim's 
Progress." 

16 


242      A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD. 

On  coming  from  the  church  we  climbed  the  stair- 
way of  the  old  bell  tower,  which  is  close  beside  the 
church.  We  stood  on  the  spot  where  Bunyan,  when 
a  boy,  rang  those  old  bells.  There  were  several  old 
relics  in  the  tower,  among  them  being  the  altar  rail  in 
front  of  which  Bunyan's  father  and  mother  were  mar- 
ried in  1627.  From  here  we  visited  a  long,  nar- 
row, two-story,  brick  building.  In  this  old  build- 
ing John  Bunyan  danced  with  the  village  lassies, 
previous  to  loosing  his  desire  for  worldly  amusement. 
While  many  fail  to  see  the  harm  in  shaking  their  feet, 
yet  Bunyan  found  he  would  have  to  keep  his  quiet  in 
order  to  keep  healthy  spiritually.  I  remarked  to  an 
old  colored  woman  one  day  that  every  time  I  heard 
music  it  ran  down  into  my  feet. 

"Do  you  know  the  reason?"  she  said.  ''Your  feet 
have  never  been  healed  yet."  The  old  woman  con- 
cluded that  I  did  not  have  sufficient  grace  to  control 
them,  but  that  has  been  long  ago,  since  that  con- 
versation with  the  old  unbleached  sister.  Bunyan  af- 
terward preached  in  the  old  building.  The  gentleman 
who  had  lectured  in  America  is  Mr.  Poynter,  su- 
perintendent of  the  Sabbath  school,  held  in  the 
building.  It  stands  on  the  green  on  which  Mr. 
Bunyan  played  when  a  boy.  Mr.  Poyntaer  showed 
us  the  old  beaten  path  that  led  to  the  house  in 
which  John  was  born.  We  walked  back  to  Bedford 
with  Mr.  Poynter  and  the  old  gentleman  in  company 
with  him,  whom  we  learned  was  an  artist  and  at  one 
time  a  celebrated  cartoonist  in  London.  We  visited 
the  Bunyan  Memorial  Church  in  which  were  a  number 
of  relics  which  belonged  to  this  wonderful  man,  among 
them  being  his  chair  and  the  old  prison  grate  door 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      243 

that  barred  him  from  his  liberty.  As  I  looked  at  this 
relic,  fancied  I  could  see  Bunyan  in  the  gloomy  old 
prison  wielding  his  pen  in  writing  a  book  that,  barring 
the  Holy  Bible,  has  benefitted  the  world  along  relig- 
ious lines  more  than  any  ever  written. 

In  passing  along  Cuthbert  street,  he  stopped  in 
front  of  a  house.  This  is  built  on  the  site  where  stood 
Bunyan's  house  in  which  he  wrote  a  part  of  his  won- 
derful book,  and  which  he  left  in  1688  never  to  return. 
Bunyan  is  buried  in  Bunhill  Fields  Cemetery  in  Lon- 
don. We  were  also  shown  the  site  where  stood  the 
building  in  which  he  was  tried  and  also  the  loca- 
tion of  the  old  prison.  On  the  green  was  a  large 
bronzed  statue  of  Bunyan.  On  this  green  John  Wes- 
ley preached  and  not  far  away  is  the  old  church  in 
which  Wesley  preached  his  wonderful  sermon  on  the 
Great  Assize.  Mr.  Poynter  proved  to  be  a  very  valu- 
able friend,  as  also  did  the  young  man  who  accom- 
panied me  to  Elstow. 

Sitting  beside  me  in  the  compartment  on  returning 
to  Northampton,  was  a  very  bright,  intelligent  young 
lady.  I  took  the  liberty  to  ask  her  a  question  about 
a  town  we  had  just  passed.  She  kindly  gave  me  the  in- 
formation and,  on  learning  I  was  an  American,  said : 

"You  Yankees  are  making  a  great  account  of 
Dewey.  Why,  I  think  Hobson  deserves  more  praise 
than  Dewey." 

I  smiled  and  said:  "The  most  of  the  American 
young  ladies  are  of  the  same  opinion.  Many  of  them 
have  demonstrated  in  a  very  striking  manner  their 
appreciation  of  the  valuable  service  he  rendered  his 
country."     She  was  greatly  amused,  and  in  reply  said : 

"Yes,  I  have  read  of  how  some  of  the  young  women 


244      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

have  treated  him."  I  thought  in  all  probability  she 
would  have  treated  him  in  like  manner.  As  she  con- 
tinued her  conversation  she  informed  me  she  had  just 
been  to  see  her  brother,  a  lad  sixteen  years  old,  who 
had  enlisted  in  the  Queen's  army. 

''Mother  is  heart-broken  about  the  boy,  but  he  is 
self-willed  and  it  may  have  a  tendency  to  tame  him." 

STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 

It  was  a  very  enjoyable  ride  from  Birmingham 
through  a  very  picturesque  part  of  the  country  to  this 
old  fashioned  town  with  its  wide  streets  so  neatly  kept, 
and  its  many  fine,  old  mansions.  Hundreds  of  tour- 
ists visit  this  very  interesting  place,  made  so  from  the 
fact  of  Shakespeare,  the  great  poet,  being  born  here. 
When  I  climbed  the  stairway  of  the  old  house  and 
looked  into  the  little  room  where  in  the  year  1 564  he 
made  his  advent  into  this  world,  I  thought  how  little 
they  knew  when  he  lifted  up  his  wee  voice  and  de- 
manded the  attention  of  that  household,  that  he  would 
in  a  few  years  after  drop  from  his  pen  beautiful  poeti- 
cal thoughts  that  would  be  read  and  greatly  admired 
by  coming  generations  and  that  centuries  after  these 
wonderful  productions  were  penned,  men  and  women 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  would  make  pilgrimages  to 
his  humble  birthplace  and  also  to  the  home  not  far 
away  where,  in  1616,  he  died;  then  visit  the  Holy 
Trinity  Church  where,  in  the  chancel  beneath  a  plain 
flag  stone,  is  deposited  the  dust  of  this  great  man. 
This  old  church  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful 
River  Avon.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  graveyard,  con- 
taining many  ancient  tombs,  some  of  them  bearing 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD      245 

very  quaint  epitaphs.  One  of  them  I  copied,  that  if 
each  of  us  would  practice  we  would  not  find  time  for 
criticising  our  fellow-man.     It  reads  as  follows: 

"What  faults  you  saw  In  me  pray  try  to  shun, 
And  look  at  home;  there  is  something  to  be  done." 

The  view  from  the  church-yard  is  quite  pretty.  The 
river  winding  through  the  meadows,  fringed  v/ith 
trees  and  shrubbery,  made  a  very  pleasing  picture. 
The  Shakespeare  Memorial  Theatre,  a  fine,  large 
building  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  a 
short  distance  from  the  church,  is  quite  an  ornament 
to  the  old  town.  I  took  the  well-beaten  paths  across 
the  meadow^s  to  the  old  village  of  Shottery,  in  which 
is  the  little,  brick,  thatched  cottage  once  occupied  by 
Ann  Hathaway.  In  this  old  house  Shakespeare  and 
Ann  Hathaway  spent  many  pleasant  hours  v/hile  pass- 
ing through  the  happy  days  of  courtship.  If  he  was 
in  the  same  frame  of  mind  as  are  many  of  our  Amer- 
ican young  men  while  going  through  that  experience, 
Ann  had  the  pleasure  quite  often  of  sitting  close  be- 
side him  on  the  old  oaken  bench  which  was  standing 
beside  the  open  fire-place.  Mrs.  Baker,  the  former 
attendant,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Ann  Hathaway, 
in  showing  me  this  old  relic  on  my  previous  visit,  said : 

"This  is  the  bench  on  which  Shakespeare  and  Ann 
sat  in  the  days  of  their  courtship." 

"Let  me  sit  on  it ;  I  may  get  an  inspiration,"  I  re- 
marked. But  she  objected,  thinking  my  huge  Yan- 
kee frame  would  be  too  much  of  a  tax  on  the  old  seat. 
In  coming  to  the  cottage  I  learned  that  Mrs.  Baker, 
who  had  gone  beyond  her  four  score  years,  and  who 


.246      .A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

had  &pent  most  of  her  Hfe  in  this  cottage,  had  been 
carried  to  the  old  church-yard  and  laid  to  rest  beside 
the  friends  of  yore.  The  new  attendant  was  busy  in 
showing  sections  of  a  large  party  from  London 
through  this  historic  cottage.  They  were  representa- 
tive people,  judging  from  the  grand  style  in  which 
they  came  to  Shottery. 

In  going  back  to  Stratford  I  walked  for  some  dis- 
tance along  a  beautiful  road  which  led  to  the  main 
road  leading  to  the  town.  There  was  a  very  large 
tree  by  the  roadside  under  which  was  a  bench.  I 
seated  myself  on  it  and  drank  in  the  beauty  of  the 
scenery  all  about  me.  Three  little  boys  came  over 
and  took  seats  beside  me,  each  of  them  having  a  bou- 
quet of  wild  flowers  which  they  had  gathered  from  the 
nearby  fields  in  which  they  grew  in  abundance. 

"Well,  boys,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  your 
flowers?"  I  inquired. 

''Oh,  take  'em  home  to  mother,"  was  the  reply. 

''Are  you  good  boys?" 

'T  am,  sir,"  said  the  one  sitting  next  to  me. 

'T'm  good,  sir,  when  I'm  away  from  home,  but  I'm 
not  good  there,"  was  the  answer  of  the  boy  beside 
him. 

"That  is  just  the  place  you  should  be  good,"  I  re- 
plied. 

"No,  he's  not  good  at  home,"  said  No.  i,  "for  he 
says  T  shan't  do  it'  to  his  mother  and  when  she  goes 
to  hit  him  he  runs,"  and  added:  "He's  not  good  at 
school,  either,  for  he  copies  his  sums." 

This  little  bundle  of  mischief  verified  the  statement 
of  his  comrade.  No.  3  was  non-committal.  The  lit- 
tle fellow  who  confessed  to  not  being  an  angel  at 


Norman   Gateway,    Evesham,   England. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      247 

home  was,  like  many  who  have  swept  far  beyond 
childhood,  who  are  very  careful  to  be  on  their  good 
behavior  when  away  from  their  domicile,  but  on  reach- 
ing it  lay  aside  their  mask.  Possibly  we  all  have  need 
of  offering  up  the  same  prayer  as  did  the  colored  min- 
ister whom  I  heard  in  one  of  the  colored  churches.  It 
was  as  follows : 

"Oh,  Lord,  give  us  one  face  under  one  hat." 
The  little  boys  walked  into  Stratford  with  me  and 
kept  their  "wee"  tongues  moving  briskly.  Their 
conversation  was  both  interesting  and  amusing. 
They  were  w^onderfully  bright  lads  who  had  not 
reached  their  eighth  year.  Upon  coming  to  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town  we  met  what  tO'  me  was  a  srange 
funeral  cortege.  There  were  two  young  women  with 
a  small  cofhn  which  they  were  carrying  by  two  pieces 
of  heavy  white  ribbon  and  following  them  w^as  a 
young  man  and  woman  with  very  sad  faces  who,  I 
judged,  were  the  parents  of  the  "wee"  child  which  was 
being  borne  to  the  beautiful  little  cemetery  we  had 
just  passed.  In  speaking  to  a  friend  about  this  odd 
little  funeral  procession,  she  said  she  had  frequently 
acted  as  pall  bearer  and  they  always  carried  the  coffin 
in  that  manner. 

On  leaving  this  old  town,  went  to  South  Littleton, 
which  is  fourteen  miles  distant. 

SOUTH  LITTLETON. 

On  stepping  up  to  the  "booking  office"  in  Stratford 
to  purchase  my  ticket,  a  young  man  in  front  of  me, 
said  to  the  agent : 

"I  wish  to  book  for  Littleton  and  Badsey." 


248      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

At  once  I  decided  to  get  into  the  same  compart- 
ment in  which  he  did,  and  by  so  doing  would  not  be 
"guessing  and  calculating""  where  Littleton  and 
Badsey  station  were.  He  was  joined  by  a  young  wo- 
man and  two  small  children  which,  I  was  not  long  in 
learning,  were  his  wife  and  little  responsibilities.  On 
coming  out  of  Littleton  station  to  the  road  leading  to 
the  old  village,  which  was  about  a  mile  distant,  I 
asked  him  if  he  lived  in  South  Littleton. 

"I  do,  sir,"  he  replied. 

"Then  I  presume  you  are  acquainted  with  Mr.  Bub 
and  his  family?" 

"Yes,  they  are  relatives  of  mine."  And  to  my  great 
surprise  said:  "This  is  Mr.  Butler,  is  it  not?" 

"Well,  that  surely  is  my  name  but  how  you  came  to 
know  it,  is  more  than  I  can  understand." 

"We  knew  you  when  you  came  into  the  station  at 
Stratford.  We  remembered  you  being  in  our  old  vil- 
lage a  few  years  ago,"  he  replied. 

He  proved  to  be  one  of  the  lads  whom  I  met  on  my 
former  visit  whp  had  swept  over  into  manhood  and 
had  assumed  the  cares  of  a  family. 

On  calling  at  the  store  of  Mr.  Bub,  who  had  en- 
gaged lodgings  for  me,  was  informed  by  him  that  I 
was  to  occupy  quarters  in  the  same  house  in  which  I 
formerly  lodged. 

"You  will  not  find  them  at  home;  they  are  at  the 
Village  Tea  at  North  Littleton.  Nearly  all  the  folk 
in  the  village  are  there,  and  I  am  going  after  closing 
the  store  and  would  like  you  to  accompany  me,  which 
will  give  you  an  opportunity  of  seeing  many  of  your 
old  friends,"  he  remarked. 

A  Village  Tea  was  something  new  to  me  and  I  was 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      249 

curious  to  know  how  they  were  conducted.  It  was  a 
pleasant  walk  of  a  little  over  a  mile  to  the  grounds. 
The  strains  of  the  village  band  greeted  our  ears  when 
we  were  some  distance  away,  and  on  our  arrival  found 
the  musicians  perched  up  in  an  old  fashioned  wagon. 
They  were  playing  a  very  lively  air  which  had  found 
its  way  down  into  the  feet  of  some  of  the  lads  and  las- 
sies who  were  bounding  about  very  briskly.  It  was 
not  long  before  I  understood  that  a  "Village  Tea"  was 
similar  to  an  American  picnic.  Many  of  the  crowd 
were  patronizing  the  lemonade  vender  and  the  merry- 
go-round  and  swings  and  various  other  amusements 
in  which  our  Yankee  lads  and  lassies  take  pleasure. 
The  young  men  were  promenading  with  their  ''best 
girls,"  evidently  doing  their  best  to  give  them  a  pleas- 
ant time.  There  was  an  abundance  of  baby  carriages, 
containing  one  or  more  little  bundles  of  humanity 
which  some  of  the  weary  looking  mothers  were  trying 
to  quiet,  while  the  father,  I  presume,  was  mingling 
with  the  crowd,  enjoying  the  ''Village  Tea."  It  is 
frequently  seen  on  that  wise  in  America. 

"This  is  our  'Jim,'  "  said  my  friend,  as  a  fine  look- 
ing fellow,  about  one  and  twenty,  came  up  to  us.  It 
did  not  seem  possible  that  he  was  the  same  lad  I  first 
met  as  a  school  boy. 

After  greeting  me  cordially,  he  said :  "One  of  my 
friends  and  myself  have  arranged  to  go  back  with  you 
to  America." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "there  is  room  for  lads  like  you  in 
that  great  country." 

A  few  days  after  that  conversation  I  called  at  his 
home  and  found  his  father  and  mother  greatly  exer- 
cised about  the  proposed  trip  to  America.     "He's  the 


250  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

only  boy  we  have  at  home  and  I  should  fret  myself  to 
death  to  have  him  go  sO'  far  away,"  said  his  mother. 

''I  thought  it  was  talk  with  the  boy,"  remarked  the 
father.  ''We  cannot  get  along  without  the  lad.  I 
shall  soon  have  to  depend  on  him  to  manage  the  little 
farm." 

''Jim's"  face  lengthened  out  until  I  thought  it  would 
not  soon  get  back  to  its  normal  state.  But  this  young 
fellow  had  too  much  love  and  respect  for  his  parents 
to  sail  away  from  Old  England  against  their  wishes. 

It  was  nearly  lo  o'clock  when  we  left  the  grounds 
and  it  was  just  beginning  to  grow  dark.  Those  who 
go  out  for  a  day's  pleasure  in  that  country  have  the 
benefit  of  a  long  day.  The  old  house  in  which  I  was 
to  lodge  seemed  quite  familiar  as  I  stepped  into  the 
quaint  room  with  its  flag-stone  floor  and  open  fire 
place.  There  had  been  some  changes  in  the  family 
circle.  The  head  of  the  house  had  been  carried  to  the 
old  church-yard  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  old  fash- 
ioned street,  and  the  widow  had  given  up  the  home  to 
the  lad  whom  I  had  seen  casting  love  glances  at  the 
lass  as  she  moved  about  the  old  kitchen.  He  was  now 
giving  his  attention  to  a  "wee  girl"  and  a  boy  that 
was  a  still  later  edition,  and  I  learned  that  several  of 
the  young  folks  that  gathered  in  that  old  house,  like 
their  friends,  Ralph  and  Bridget,  had  taken  advantage 
of  an  early  opportunity  of  avoiding  becoming  lonely 
bachelors  and  "overlooked  sisters."  When  the  eight- 
day  clock,  which  they  informed  me  had  stood  in  the 
same  position  for  more  than  sixty  years,  rang  out  the 
hour  of  eleven  I  bade  them  good  night  and  climbed 
the  old  stairway  which  had  been  pressed  by  the  weary 
feet  of  occupants  of  that  house  for  nearly  200  years. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      251 

The  next  morning,  on  coming  to  the  door  of  a  house 
in  which  lived  a  very  old  lady,  I  said : 

"Aunty,  you  should  have  had  this  door  raised  higher 
for  tall  lads." 

"You  did  not  tell  me  you  were  coming;  now  you 
will  have  to  bend  a  bit,"  she  replied  in  broad  EngHsh. 
After  giving  her  some  account  of  her  only  surviving 
brother  living  in  America,  to  which  she  listened  with 
rapt  attention,  she  said : 

"The  Lord  has  taken  good  care  of  us.  Why,  I  have 
an  independent  living.     I  get  a  half  crown  a  week." 

"Aunty,  that  is  not  sufficient  for  your  needs." 

"No,"  she  replied,  "but  I  get  on  my  knees  every 
morning  and  ask  God  to  supply  what  it  fails  to  meet, 
and  He  is  true  tO'  His  promise.  I'm  just  as  happy  as 
I  can  be.  When  I  go  to  bed,  I  don't  know  whether  or 
not  I  will  get  up  in  the  morning,  but  I'm  content 
whether  I  awake  here  or  in  heaven."  Then  she 
added:  "When  one  gets  beyond  eighty  years  old 
there's  not  much  time  left  for  them." 

She  was  as  young  in  spirit  as  a  girl.  "What  have 
you  in  your  bucket?"  I  asked  her  as  she  was  passing 
along  the  street  one  morning. 

"Oh,  nothin'  bad ;  I  never  carry  anything  but  what's 
good,"  was  her  reply. 

"You  should  stay  to  our  next  village  tea,  which 
takes  place  in  a  fortnight,"  she  said,  and  added :  "I  ex- 
pect to  be  there.  Old  Farmer  B —  met  me  to-day 
and  wanted  to  engage  me  to  dance  with  him,  but  I 
told  him  I  didn't  know  the  step.  He  said  he'd  teacH 
me.  He's  always  wanting  to  have  a  bit  of  fun  with 
me." 

When  I  bade  her  adieu,^  she  said :  "When  you  come 


252      A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD. 

back  to  the. old  village  again  you  will  find  me  gone 
from  this  little  old  house  to  the  better  home  above." 

On  Sunday  I  attended  service  at  the  neat  little 
chapel  recently. erected,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  day 
spent  with  those  plain  country  folk  in  that  little  village 
in  the  Midlands.  I  spent  one  day  at  Evesham,  which 
is  four  miles  distant.  The  River  Avon  divides  this  old 
town,  along  the  banks  of  which  are  some  fine  resi- 
dences. There  are  also  many  very  old  buildings  and 
several  ancient  churches.  Intone  of  the  old  church- 
yards I  copied  the  following  epitaphs : 

"Here  lies  an  unworthy  member  of  the  Church  of 
England  as .  established  by  law." 

"Reader,  who  e'er  thou  art,  Inquire  not; 
To  whom,  related,  by  whom  begot. 
A  heap  of  dust  is  all  remains  of  me, 
'Tis  all  I  am  and  all  that  you  must  he. 
Upon  this  stone  expect  no  fulsome  stufif; 
To  say  the  least  of  me,  I've  been  bad  enough; 
Christ  is  my  only  hope,  my  sins  to  fi  ee. 
He  died  for  sinners,  therefore  died  for  me." 

The  following  was  on  the  tombstone  of  an  old  black- 
smith who  died  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century : 

"My  sledge  and  hammer  lie  reclined. 

My  bellows  too  have  lost  their  wind, 

My  fires  extinguished  forge  decayed; 

And  in  the  dust  my  vise  is  laid; 

My  coal  is  spent,  my  iron  gone. 

My  last  nail  driven,  my  work  is  done." 
"An  angel's  arm  could  not  snatch  me  from  the  grave^ 

Legions     of    angels  can't  confine  me  there." 
"A  plain,  roug^h  man  but  without  guile  or  pride, 

Goodness  his    aim    and    honesty  his  guide. 

Could  all  the  pomp  of  this  vain  world  despisCj, 

And  only  after  death  desire  to  rise." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      253 

OXFORD. 

On  learning  that  Oxford  was' on  the  direct  line  from 
Littleton  to  London,  I  decided  to  break  my  journey 
and  spend  a  few  hours  in  this  historic  old- town.  Com- 
ing out  of  the  station,  I  was  hailed  by  two  boys  who 
wished  to  know  if  I  had  any  luggage  I  wanted  carried. 
"Only  myself,"  I  replied.  ''Do  you  think  you  would 
like  to  take  the  contract?"  One  of  them  looked  up 
into  my  face  and^said : 

"We'll  take  you,  sir,  on  a  barrow,  but  it  will  be  in 
sections." 

When  I  found  myself  in  the  presence  of  two  up-to- 
date  boys,  I  at  once  cut' off  the  thread  of  conversation. 

On  coming  out  into  the  city  I  found  it  was  one  of 
the  finest  little  cities  I  had  visited.  Some  of  its  streets 
are  quite  broad  and  contain  many  beautiful  residences. 
Oxford,  as  a  seat  of  learning,  dates  from  Alfred  the 
Great  who,  according  to  tradition,  founded  University 
College  in  872,  but  historically  it  dates  form  1280. 
All  along  on  either  side  of  some  of  the  streets  are 
many  old  time-worn  looking  colleges,  among  them 
being  Balliol  College,  founded  by  John  Ballilol  and 
his  wife  in  1268.  They  were  the  parents  of  John  Bal- 
lilol, King  of  Scotland.  The  Oriel  College,  founded 
in  1326,  is  where  Matthew  Arnold,  Kible,  Newman, 
Pusey  and  Wilberforce  were  students. 

In  strolling  out  to  the  Christ  Church  meadows  I 
came  to  a  beautiful  avenue  called  the  Broad  Walk. 
On  either  side  of  it  were  large  elms  which  formed  a 
perfect  arch.  Near  by  is  the  Christ  Church  College, 
founded  by  Cardinal  Woolsey  in  1525.  The  meadow 
buildings  are  quite  modern,  having  been  built  in  1862. 


254      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

The  Christ  Church  Cathedral  was  built  on  the  site  of 
a  religious  house  founded  by  St.  Frideswide  in  the 
early  part  of  the  eighth  century.  The  main  part  of 
the  present  building  was  completed  about  1180  and 
the  massive  columns  and  arches  are  in  a  fair  state  of 
preservation. 

After  looking  about  this  old  edifice  I  visited  the 
Lincoln  College,  founded  by  Bishop  Fleming,  of  Lin- 
coln, in  1427.  In  the  old  dining  hall  were  portraits  of 
some  of  the  faculty  of  the  days  of  yore.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley  were  students  here.  John's  portrait 
hangs  in  some  of  the  rooms  in  which  were 'held  the 
meetings  of  the  so-called  ''Holy  Club."  John  became 
the  leader  of  one  of  the  great  Oxford  movements. 
When  he  left  that  old  college  he  not  only  had  his  head 
packed  with  useful  knowledge,  but  also  had  his  heart 
filled  with  divine  grace  and  proved  a  great  power  for 
good. 

Methodism,  of  which  he  was  the  founder,  has,  un- 
der the  guidance  of  the  Triune  God,  found  its  way 
into  nearly  every  dark  corner  of  the  world.  As  I 
walked  through  those  old  halls,  I  thought  how  many 
young  men  had  spent  long,  weary  hours  in  study  and 
had  gone  out  into  the  world — some  to  proclaim  the 
old  Gospel,  others  to  untangle  unfortunate  ones  from 
the  meshes  of  the  law,  while  others  had  become  leaders 
in  the  political  world,  among  the  number  being  the 
late  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone. 

"Give  me  a  light  lunch  please?"  I  said  to  a  woman  at 
a  restaurant  near  one  of  the  colleges.  She  filled  the 
order  nicely  so  far  as  the  lightness  was  concerned. 
While  the  lunch  was  very  light,  the  bill  was  quite 
heavy.     On  examining  my  change  I  said  to  her : 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      255 

"Haven't  you  made  a  mistake?  You  only  gave  me 
a  small  plate  of  tongue." 

''Oh,  no,  sir;  it  was  a  large  plate."  One  could  not 
quite  imagine  what  a  small  plate  would  have  been. 
My  impression  was  that  I  had  better  not  stop  to  argue 
the  case  with  her,  for  she  had  the  appearance  of  being 
a  woman  that  would  give  me  more  tongue  than  I 
could  manage. 

"Polish  yer  boots,  sir?"  said  a  cross-eyed  boy,  as 
he  left  a  crowd  of  boys  sitting  beside  a  high  board 
fence  and  ran  up  to  me. 

"Do  you  think  you  have  material  enough  to  finish 
the  job?"  I  asked,  as  I  called  attention  to  the  quantity 
of  leather  of  which  my  boots  were  made. 

"I  'ave;  come  hover  to  the  box,  sir,"  he  replied. 
The  group  of  boys  seemed  to  be  interested  in  the  con- 
tract which  he  had  taken.  As  I  rested  my  foot  on  the 
rude  little  box,  and  he  began  to  briskly  wield  the 
brush,  one  of  the  boys  shouted : 

"Eh,  Bill,  mind  where  your  knockin'." 

"Yes,"  I  remarked,  "handle  me  carefully,  for  there 
is  a  monument  on  many  of  my  toes  and  if  you  strike 
out  in  that  style  you  will  not  only  knock  the  corn  of¥, 
but  also  the  toes." 

He  looked  up  on  the  bias  and  said : 

"Eh,  if  I  do,  I  will  take  ye  hover  to  yon  chemist 
shop  and  get  them  stuck  on  again."  Then  he  swung 
his  brush  even  more  vigorously.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished, I  said  to  him : 

"How  much  for  a  job  like  that?" 

"Twopence,  sir,"  he  replied.  The  boys  were  hav- 
ing lots  of  fun  with  "Bill"  and  the  Yankee. 

In  passing  along  Broad  street,   I   came   to    the 


256      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Martyrs'  Memorial  Cross.  It  is  a  fine  monument, 
erected  in  memory  of  the  three  martyrs — Thomas 
Cranmer,  Nicholas  Ridley  and  Huge  Latimar,  Pre- 
lates of  the  Church  of  England,  who  were  burned  at 
the  stake  near  this  pot  for  principles  which  they  be- 
lieved to  be  right.  In  the  alcoves  in  the  monument 
are  three  statues,  one  of  them  representing  Cranmer 
holding  his  Bible,  bearing  the  date  of  1541,  it  being 
the  first  year  of  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  by  royal 
authority.  The  attitude  of  Ridley  represented  the 
steadfastness  with  which  he  fought  the  good  fight  of 
faith.  Latimer  was  represented  with  his  arms  folded 
across  his  breast  and  bending  under  the  weight  of  his 
four  score  years,  the  image  of  submission  to  the  will 
of  God. 

There  were  many  points  of  interest  I  desired  to 
visit,  but  was  compelled  tO'  resume  my  journey  to  Lon- 
don, which  was  about  sixty  miles. 

ON  THE  JOURNEY  TO  LONDON. 

In  the  compartment  near  me  were  two  young  men 
who,  by  their  conversation,  I  soon  learned  had  just  re- 
turned from  America.  "So  you  have  been  living  in 
that  great  country  across  the  Atlantic?"  I  remarked. 

"Yes,"  one  of  them  said,  "we  went  over  there  a 
few  years  ago  to  seek  our  fortune,  but  failed  to  find  it. 
Now,  after  spending  a  few  weeks  with  our  parents  in 
Evesham,  we  are  going  to  Australia.  We  understand 
it  is  not  so  over-crowded  as  America." 

"How  did  you  like  the  country?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  America  is  a  grand  country,  and  we  would 
like  to  have  remained." 


I       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      aS7 

"I  have  been  living  in  Ireland  for  about  a  year,  and 
am  pleased  with  that  beautiful  country/'  I.  remarked. 
A  very  loquacious  man  sitting  opposite,  said  to  me : 

"So  you  have  been  to  that  country  where  they  tell 
people  are  going  to  H— ,  and  they  all  believe  it?" 

"Oh,  one  does  not  have  to  be  told  which  way  he  is 
going;  he  generally  has  some  idea,"  I  replied.  He 
spread  himself  out  and,  casting  his  eyes  about  to  those 
in  the  compartment,  said,  sarcastically : 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  believe  in  such  a 
place?"  At  once  I  saw  he  meant  to  hold  me  up  in 
ridicule  before  the  passengers,  so  I  set  about  to  side- 
track this  overly-wise  fellow. 

"I  have  had  a  foretaste  of  H —  by  wrong  doing,  and 
of  Heaven  by  trying  to  behave  properly,  and  believe 
in  what  the  old  Bible  says  in  reference  to  it,"I  said. 

"Oh,  I  never  read  that  Book,"  he  replied,  giving  his 
head  a  toss. 

"So  much  to  your  shame.  If  you  have  never  in- 
vestigated that  old  Book,  you  have  no  right  to  criti- 
cise it,"  I  remarked. 

"Well,  I  suppose  not,"  he  said,  in  a  more  subdued 
tone  of  voice. 

"Very  early  in  life  I  found  there  was  such  a  thing 
as  sin,  and  wanted  to  know  if  there  was  a  remedy. 
Nature  could  not  answer  the  question,  but  the  old 
Book  did,  and  all  the  infidels  living  could  not  convince 
me  to  the  contrary." 

"Do  you  think  I  am  an  infidel?" 

"No,  sir,  I  have  seen  men  like  you  before,  and  they 
have  called  for  help  when  they  came  down  to  the  Jor- 
dan of  death,  and  you  will  do  the  same." 


258      A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD.    i   * 

"Well,  I  have  been  pretty  well  down  toward  it,  and 
did  not  call  for  assistance. 

".You  were  not  conscious  of  being  near  the  danger 
line,  or  you  would  have  done  so." 

"I'm  trying  to  live  a  good  life,"  he  remarked. 

"I  heard  you  use  language  that  did  not  indicate  you 
were  making  much  of  an  effort." 

"I  never  swear  before  my  wife." 

"Well,  possibly  you  dare  not."  "'   ^  i^ 

"Oh,  she  is  not  that  kind  of  a  woman." 

"Possibly  not,"  I  remarked,  and  added:  "There 
was  a  man  living  in  America  who  was  using  profane 
language  one  day  and  some  one  tried  to  quiet  him  by 
telling  him  the  clergyman  was  coming.  He  said :  If 
I'm  not  ashamed  to  swear  in  the  presence  of  the  Al- 
mighty, Tm  not  in  the  presence  of  the  clergyman.'  " 
He  took  the  application,  but  quickly  ralUed  and  said: 

"I  don't  take  any  stock  in  clergymen.  My  wife  is 
a  member  of  the  High  Church,  and  one  of  the  rectors 
came  one  day  and  requested  her  to  come  to  confes- 
sion. If  I  had  been  at  home  I  should  have  kicked  him 
out  of  the  house." 

"Because  you  think  he  did  not  properly  represent 
the  Gospel,  do  you  think  you  are  wise  in  condemning 
the  whole  system?" 

"Well,  no ;  I  don't  suppose  I  am." 

"A  Gospel  that  lifts  up  men  and  makes  them  better, 
should  be  at  least  commended  by  every  good  thinking 
man,"  I  remarked,  and  added :  "Surely  you  could  have 
no  objection  to  it?" 

"Well,  no ;  I  can't  say  that  I  have." 

Our  conversation  seemed  to  interest  as  well  as 
amws§  those  in  the  Qopipartmf nt,    Qvk  our  arrival  in 


-      -    ^  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      259 

London,  a  gentleman  who  had  listened  to  our  conver- 
sation said  to  me : 

"I  quite  enjoyed  your  argument  with  that  very  wise 
man.  I  think  you  about  convinced  him  of  the  error 
of  his  way." 

"We  thought  he  was  going  to  get  the  best  of  you 
at  first,"  said  the  young  man  who  had  been  to  Amer- 
ica. 

"Oh,  I  had  no  fear  of  that,  lad.  I  always  have  a 
bundle  of  facts  to  pass  out  to  men  of  his  stripe,"  I  re- 
plied. "You  have  heard  or  seen  the  catfish  that  are 
found  in  American  waters?"  I  further  remarked,  "and 
if  you  do  not  handle  them  properly  you  will  get  badly 
finned.  I  saw  at  a  glance  the  old  lad  had  his  fins  out 
and  took  hold  of  him  carefully." 

CANTERBURY. 

We  left  London  from  Charing  Cross  station  for  the 
historic  old  city  of  Canterbury.  We  passed  through 
a  very  pretty  section  of  the  country  and  through  sev- 
eral villages  and  towns,  Ashford,  in  Kent,  being  the 
largest.  Sometimes  our  view  was  hidden  as  the  train 
dashed  through  the  many  tunnels  on  this  line.  One 
of  them  was  of  great  length  and  I  wondered  when  we 
would  again  see  daylight. 

"My  word,  I  dread  going  through  these  tunnels," 
said  an  old  lady  sitting  in  front  of  me. 

"Well,  I  don't  feel  so  comfortable  with  all  those 
rocks  and  so  much  mother  earth  above  me." 

"Well,  thank  godness,  this  is  the  last  one  we  pass 
through." 

"How  many  stations  before  reaching  Canterbury?" 
I  inquired  of  her,        _>_,..., 


26o      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

"Oh,  sir,  we  have  several  yet,"  she  replied. 

"One  has  to  be  on  the  alert  when  traveling  in  a 
compartment  train  or  he  will  find  himself  beyond  his 
destination,"  I  remarked. 

"You  are  from  America,  I  see." 

"Yes,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  that  must  be  a  wonderful  country.  My 
daughter  married  a  short  time  ago  and  has  gone  there 
to  reside.  When  she  writes  she  usually  gives  me 
some  description  of  it.  She  is  anxious  to  have  me 
come  over,  but  it  is  too  much  of  an  undertaking  for 
one  so  old,"  she  remarked.  "I  understand,"  she 
added,  "that  your  railway  trains  are  much  more  con- 
venient than  ours." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "we  have  an  aisle  through  the 
centre  of  our  cars,  with  seats  on  either  side,  holding 
two  persons.  The  conductor  comes  through  the  cars 
and  collects  the  tickets.  The  stations  are  called  from 
each  end  of  the  car  by  the  conductor  and  brakeman." 

"That  is  far  better  than  our  system." 

On  coming  out  of  the  station,  a  boy  standing  beside 
an  omnibus  said  to  me : 

"Ride  up,  sir?     Take  you  to  any  part  of  the  town." 

"Do  you  think  you  can  pack  me  away  in  that  small 
vehicle?"  I  inquired. 

"I'll  try,  sir."  I  folded  myself  up  and  entered  this 
little  band  box  on  wheels  and  had  to  sit  with  bowed 
head  to  avoid  a  collision  between  my  derby  hat  and 
the  top  of  the  'bus.  In  order  not  to  infringe  on  the 
space  allotted  to  my  fellow  passenger  sitting  opposite, 
I  had  to  sit  on  the  bias. 

"What  is  your  schedule  time?"  I  inquired  of  the 
boy,  after  awaiting  some  time. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD.      aSt 

"Oh,  we  leave  as  soon  as  the  other  train  arrives, 
sir."  On  its  arrival,  a  woman  with  several  bundles 
crowded  into  the  small  space  beside  me.  I  soon 
found  I  should  have  to  put  myself  into  a  smaller  com- 
pass in  order  that  this  old  sister  might  square  herself 
away  comfortably.  It  was  a  short  ride  to  the  home 
of  my  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith,  whom  I  first  met 
on  the  voyage  back  to  America  on  my  former  trip. 
Then  they  were  a  bride  and  groom  of  a  week  and 
were  enroute  for  one  of  the  states  in  the  far  West  to 
make  a  home  for  themselves.  Through  my  invita- 
tion they  remained  in  our  city  for  a  few  days  previous 
to  starting  on  their  long  journey  and,  during  their 
brief  stay  with  us,  by  their  pleasant  and  genial  man- 
ner, made  several  warm  friends.  Fortune  failed  to 
smile  on  them  in  their  western  home  and  they  finally 
returned  to  our  city,  and  in  a  few  months  afterward 
sailed  for  their  old  home  in  Canterbury.  I  accepted 
of  their  kind  invitation  to  spend  a  few  days  with  them 
in  their  cosy  home.  They  introduced  me  to  many  of 
their  friends,  whom  I  found  to  be  excellent  people. 

One  afternoon  we  attended  a  strawberry  tea  given 
by  the  ladies  connected  with  the  Wesleyan  Church. 
It  was  held  in  the  apple  orchard  of  an  old  farm  on  a 
hill  overlooking  Canterbury.  We  had  a  splendid 
view  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  also  of  the  city 
nestled  down  in  a  beautiful  valley.  The  old  cathedral 
towering  above  the  other  buildings,  added  to  the 
beauty  of  the  picture  of  the  old  town,  which  was  about 
a  mile  distant.  There  were  quite  a  nice  little  company 
gathered  around  the  tables,  on  which  were  an  abund- 
ance of  berries  and  other  tempting  articles  of  food  that 
make  up  a  strawberry  tea.     After  a  good  social  time 


26i  A  VAMK:^E  BACliELOiR  AMOAD. 

at  the  tables,  the  company  adjourned  to  the  Wesleyan 
College  grounds  which  were  near  by.  Many  of  the 
people  engaged  in  games  of  various  kinds.  Some 
of  us  became  very  much  interested  in  the  young  stu- 
dents with  whom  we  engaged  in  conversation.  One 
of  them  informed  us  he  was  the  son  of  a  missionary 
and  was  born  in  India,  and  two  others  said  they  were 
born  in  Japan.  Another  very  bright,  intelligent  boy 
said  he  was  also  the  son  of  a  missionary  and  was  born 
in  New  Zealand. 

"After  mother  died,"  he  said,  "my  aunt  brought  me 
to  England  by  way  of  America.  My  word,  but  I 
thought  America  was  a  large  country  after  traveling 
from  San  Francisco  to  New  York,  where  we  took  the 
steamer  for  Liverpool." 

"There  is  a  boy  who  was  born  in  Spain,"  said  a  boy, 
as  he  saw  the  lad  approaching  our  little  group.  "I 
was  telling  the  folks  that  you  were  born  in  Spain." 

"Yes,  but  father  and  mother  were  natives  of  Eng- 
land," he  said  in  broken  EngHsh. 

"Did  you  live  in  Spain  during  her  trouble  with 
America?" 

"Yes,  I  lived  in  Cadiz,  and  there  was  great  excite- 
ment when  they  heard  the  Yankee  hogs  were  coming 
over,  and  they  were  getting  ready  for  them." 

"Yes,  son,  they  were  getting  ready  to  run,"  I  re- 
marked. 

"My  uncle  was  in  the  war,"  he  said.  I  soon  found 
the  lad's  sympathy  was  with  Spain. 

The  pleasant  afternoon  and  evening  will  not  soon 
be  forgotten  that  I  spent  with  those  English  friends 
at  the  strawberry  tea  on  the  old  farm. 

There  is  a  little  village  over  the  hills  about  two 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  263 

miles  from  Canterbury  where  I  frequently  went  with 
my  friends  to  visit  the  home  of  a  fine,  old  couple.  My 
friends  styled  them  '^father  and  mother,"  and  I  soon 
found  myself  addressing  them  in  the  same  familiar 
way.  They  always  swung  their  door  open  wide  and 
gave  us  a  cordial  welcome. 

Canterbury  is  a  very  interesting  city.  The  foun- 
dation is  said  to  be  before  that  of  Rome  and,  from  the 
remains  which  have  been  found,  it  was  of  considerable 
importance  in  the  early  time  of  the  Romans.  It  has 
at  various  times  suffered  by  fire  and  sword.  In  754 
the  city  was  greatly  damaged  by  fire.  It  was  again 
partly  destroyed  in  ']'j6.  It  was  captured  by  the 
Danes,  and  in  918  Aelfleda  beseiged  and  burned  the 
city,  killing  and  expelling  the  piratical  hordes  who 
then  held  it.  In  loii  the  Danes  again  beseiged  and 
captured  it,  and  of  the  8,000  inhabitants  only  four 
monks  and  800  citizens  escaped  with  their  lives.  This 
old  city  has  a  population  of  20,000  and  is  situated  on 
the  High  Road  between  London  and  Dover,  fifty-six 
miles  from  the  former  place  and  sixteen  miles  from  the 
latter.  The  River  Stour,  a  very  narrow,  shallow 
stream,  divides  the  city  and  then  winds  its  way 
through  the  valley,  on  out  to  the  sea,  which  is  only  a 
comparatively  short  distance  away.  Canterbury  was 
once  a  walled  city  and  until  about  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  remained  as  it  did  centuries  ago. 
There  were  originally  six  gates.  The  West  gate  is 
the  only  one  remaining.  It  stands  in  the  centre  of 
one  of  the  main  streets.  On  either  side  of  the  gate  are 
two  round  towers,  with  a  stone  passage-way  leading 
from  one  tower  to  the  other.  These  towers  were 
once  used  for  prisons,  but  now  the  lower  part  is  only 


264      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.        ! 

used  as  a  police  station.  The  streets  are  very  narrow 
and  many  of  the  buildings  and  houses  are  small  and 
very  ancient  looking,  quite  as  much  so  as  many  I  saw 
in  the  old  walled  cities  of  York  and  Chester.  In  the 
evenings  these  thoroughfares  are  so  crowded  with  pe- 
destrians that  many  are  compelled  to  take  the  centre 
of  the  streets.  The  Queen's  lads  were  quite  conspic- 
uous with  their  gay  uniforms,  which  seemed  to  attract 
the  eye  of  the  lassies,  judging  from  the  great  number 
I  saw  holding  on  to  the  arms  of  these  soldier  lads. 

In  conversation  with  one  of  the  Lancers  on  the 
street  one  evening,  he  informed  me  he  had  served  his 
country  for  thirteen  years.  "My  time  is  out  now,  but 
on  the  account  of  the  war  in  South  Africa,  the  govern- 
ment can  hold  me  another  twelve  months,  but  when 
I  once  get  out  of  it,  you  will  never  again  catch  me 
donning  the  Queen's  uniform." 

Our  attention  was  attracted  by  a  man  and  woman 
going  along  the  street  with  a  heavy  cargo  of  strong 
drink.     "That  is  a  sad  picture,"  I  remarked. 

"Yes,  that  is  goin'  a  bit  too  far.  I  take  a  drink 
*)metimes,  and  usually  celebrate  my  birthday  by  hav- 
ing a  good  spree,"  he  replied. 

"You  are  a  young  man  yet,"  I  said,  "and  if  you  con- 
tinue to  celebrate  your  birthday  in  that  way,  possibly 
you  will  not  pass  very  many  more  before  you  will  be 
wishing  you  never  had  one.  I  have  known  lots  of  lads 
to  have  had  that  bitter  experience." 

"Oh,  you  are  a  teetotaller,  I  see,"  and  agreed  with 
me  it  was  the  only  safe  way,  but  during  our  conversa- 
tion seemed  to  forget  what  my  principles  were  and  in- 
vited me  to  take  a  drink,  and  apologized  when  he  re- 
called our  previous  talk  on  that  line.     My  little  tern- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      265 

perance  lecture,!  thought,  had  not  taken  very  deep 
root. 

"I  have  been  waiting  here  some  time  for  my  sweet- 
heart. She  generally  meets  me  here  about  this  time," 
he  said,  and  added :  ''As  soon  as  I  am  through  with 
army  life  I  think  I  will  tie  up." 

"A  very  wise  thing  for  a  young  man  to  do,  if  he  is 
fixed  for  it  financially  and  gets  the  proper  mate,"  I 
remarked. 

"Here  she  comes,  now,"  he  said,  as  a  neat,  trim, 
little  lass  came  jostling  through  the  crowd,  casting  her 
eyes  about,  looking,  I  presume,  for  this  lad.  He  ex- 
cused himself  and  said  as  he  was  leaving :  ''I  am  glad 
to  have  had  the  talk  with  you.  I  will  try  and  profit 
by  it,"  and  then  joined  the  lass  and  the  two  were  soon 
lost  to  sight  in  the  crowd. 

Many  of  the  soldiers  seemed  to  patronize  the  pub- 
lic houses,  which  are  numerous.  Canterbury  is  noted 
for  its  many  churches  and  public  houses.  The  latter 
seemed  to  have  the  largest  following.  There  is  a 
very  large  military  barracks  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city  in  which  were  quartered  several  hundred  soldiers. 
A  gentleman  in  Belfast  requested  me  to  call  at  the  bar- 
racks and  make  inquiry  about  a  young  lad  formerly 
quartered  there.  On  my  way  out  I  overtook  one  of 
the  sergeants  who,  after  giving  me  the  desired  infor- 
mation, engaged  in  conversation  about  his  army  life, 
in  which  I  became  very  much  interested. 

"I  joined  the  army  as  a  teetotaller,"  he  said,  "and 
found  it  rather  difficult  to  hold  on  to  my  principles 
amid  the  persecution  I  received,  but  I  managed  to 
stand  firm." 

"How  do  you  find  it  now?"  I  inquired.  | 


266     A  YANKEE  BACHELOk  ABROAD. 

"Oh,  there  is  a  decided  change  for  the  better. 
While  you  may  see  many  of  the  boys  in  the  public 
houses,  yet  there  are  a  great  many  of  them  who  are 
teetotallers,  and  the  number  is  steadily  increasing,'* 
and  then  he  added:  "A  few  years  ago  we  were  sent 
to  a  very  malarial  district  in  India  and  my  comrades 
said  I  would  be  certain  to  get  the  fever  and  die  if  I 
did  not  use  spirits ;  but  I  did  not  take  any  and  was  the 
only  one  that  escaped  the  fever,  as  I  took  good  care  of 
myself.  After  they  recovered  I  asked  them  what 
their  opinion  was  of  total  abstinence.  'Comrade,' 
they  said,  'it  is  a  good  thing.'  " 

On  going  to  the  drill  grounds  I  found  the  Lancers 
in  the  midst  of  their  drill,  which  I  watched  with  great 
interest.  Their  horses  dashed  across  the  drill  grounds 
with  great  speed  and  the  boys  used  their  lances  in  a 
way  that  gave  proof  they  were  well  drilled.  One  fel- 
low, in  teaching  his  horse  to  jump  the  artificial  hedge 
fence,  was  thrown  violently  to  the  ground  and  I  con- 
cluded his  soldier  life  was  ended ;  but  to  my  surprise 
he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  mounted  his  animal  and 
bounded  away  across  the  field  and,  on  returning,  the 
horse  with  the  rider  leaped  over  the  fence  with  great 
ease.  The  raw  recruits  taxed  me  for  sympathy. 
Some  of  them  evidently  were  taking  their  first  horse- 
back ride.  They  would  slide  from  the  animal's  neck 
to  his  tail  with  their  eyes  protruding,  looking  as 
though  they  either  expected  a  trip  to  the  hospital  or 
the  cemetery.  Some  of  the  officers  drilling  the  lads 
did  not  possess  an  abundance  of  patience,  for  many 
times  they  tied  expressions  to  their  commands  that 
were  decidedly  emphatic,  but  far  from  being  elegant. 

"What  do  you  think  of  army  life  as  far  as  you  have 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAt).  267 

gone?"  I  asked  a  young  fellow  who  had  just  gone 
through  the  ordeal. 

''My  word,  if  I  was  out  of  it  they  would  have  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  again  get  me  back." 

In  looking  through  their  quarters,  I  found  them 
very  neat  and  comfortable;  their  rations  were  suffi- 
cient to  keep  their  bones  well  covered.  There  were 
a  number  of  the  lads  drilling  whom,  I  was  informed, 
were  going  to  the  front  in  a  few  days.  In  conversa- 
tion with  some  of  them  after  the  drill  I  found  them 
quite  anxious  to  get  to  the  scene  of  action.  One  fel- 
low in  a  Kahki  suit,  who  had  been  wounded  and  had 
recently  returned,  said :  ''Boys,  it  means  lots  of  hard- 
ships to  go  to  the  front.  Nevertheless,  I  should  like 
to  go  back." 

Several  of  the  lads  came  out  of  the  office,  where 
they  had  just  received  their  sentence  for  some  misde- 
meanor. "What  did  you  get?"  one  fellow  inquired  of 
a  lad  who  was  passing. 

"Oh,  six  days,"  he  replied,  in  a  way  that  indicated  he 
had  not  taken  it  to  heart. 

"Eh,  Bill,  what  did  they  give  you?"  inquired  an- 
other fellow. 

"Bill"  said,  "I  only  got  three  days,"  which  meant 
being  confined  in  the  barracks  and  doing  extra  duty. 

In  passing  through  the  stables  I  stopped  and  had  a 
chat  with  some  of  the  lads  who  were  burnishing  up 
their  harness.  One  of  them  was  an  exceptionally 
bright,  intelligent  fellow. 

"My  home  is  in  New  Zealand,"  he  remarked,  "but 
I  had  a  desire  to  see  the  world  and,  not  having  the 
money  to  do  it,  took  a  position  as  stoker  on  a  steam- 
ship and  came  over  to  England,  and  finally  drifted  to 


268  A  YANKEE  BACHELO^R  AB-ROAD. 

Sheffield  and  there  fell  into  bad  company  and  got  to 
drinking ;  but  I  soon  found  that  would  not  do  for  me. 
I  did  not  do  that  at  home  and  concluded  I  ought  to 
behave  myself  just  as  well  when  away,  and  made  a 
change  in  my  way  of  living,"  and  added :  "I  enlisted  a 
short  time  ago  and  so  far  am  delighted  with  the  life." 
This  lad  had  a  face  that  indicated  that  back  of  it  was 
a  strong  character. 

The  boys  presented  quite  a  fine  sight  on  the  drill 
grounds  with  their  different  flashy  uniforms,  especially 
those  wearing  red  coats  and  black  trousers,  and  the 
"cherry  pickers,"  as  they  are  styled. 

The  hop  gardens  of  Kent  are  worth  a  visit.  There 
are  a  number  of  them  in  the  vicinity  of  Canterbury, 
from  which  are  gathered  tons  of  this  product.  One 
day  I  walked  out  to  one  of  these  extensive  gardens 
and  watched  the  busy  pickers  for  some  time.  One 
would  think  it  was  a  family  picnic.  The  old  and 
young  were  there,  and  a  great  number  of  small  car- 
riages containing  the  new  arrivals  which  were  being 
cared  for  by  the  young  members  of  the  family  who 
were  not  large  enough  to  assist  in  picking.  It  is  quite 
a  sight  to  see  the  immense  crowds  coming  from  the 
gardens. 

"Can  I  get  some  articles  laundered?"  I  inquired  of 
my  friend,  and  after  a  fruitless  effort,  she  said : 

"It  would  be  impossible,  for  every  one  is  *oppen.'  " 

One  of  the  first  places  to  which  visitors  find  their 
way  is  the  old  Cathedral.  It  is  a  magnificent  old  edi- 
fice and  gives  proof  that  architects  of  centuries  ago 
had  excellent  practical  ideas.  The  principal  entrance 
to  the  church-yard  is  through  the  arched  gateway, 
erected  in   15 17.     This  cathedral   contains   several 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      269 

chapels.  In  one  of  them  once  stood  the  magnificent 
shrine  of  St.  Thomas  a  Beckett.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  built  of  stone  to  the  height  of  about  six  feet  and 
upwards.  From  this  stone  base  it  was  made  of  tim- 
ber, in  which  was  a  chest  containing  many  relics  be- 
longing to  St.  Thomas  a  Beckett.  The  timber  on  the 
outside  was  plated  with  gold  and  damasked  with  gold 
wire,  which  gold  ground  was  again  covered  with  gold 
and  jewels.  There  is  no  trace  of  this  shrine  remain- 
ing, but  the  spot  where  it  stood  is  worn  down  by  the 
press  of  the  knees  of  pilgrims  who  for  three  centuries 
came  to  this  place  to  ofTer  oblations  and  prayers. 
For  the  past  few  years  Catholic  pilgrims  have  made 
annual  pilgrimages  to  the  cathedral.  They  were  ex- 
pecting the  pilgrims  a  few  days  after  my  leaving  the 
old  town.  I  stood  near  the  spot  where  St.  Thomas 
a  Beckett  was  cruelly  murdered  by  four  barons  who 
came  into  the  cathedral  on  the  evening  of  December 
29,  1 1 70,  armed  with  swords,  and  as  the  Archbishop 
and  his  attendants  were  ascending  the  stairway,  one 
of  the  barons  shouted,  ''Where  is  the  traitor?" 

There  was  no  reply.  "Where  is  the  Archbishop?" 
he  then  inquired. 

"Here  I  am?"  said  the  Archbishop,  "but  here  is  no 
traitor.  What  do  ye  in  the  house  of  God  with  war- 
like weapons?"  asked  the  Archbishop. 

Then  the  barons  called  to  him  to  absolve  the  bishops 
and,  on  his  refusing  to  do  so,  they  slew  him  with  their 
swords.  One  of  them,  it  is  said,  kicked  his  prostrated 
body,  saying :  "So  perisheth  a  traitor." 

One  day  in  the  cathedral  I  met  a  gentleman  from 
Boston,  Mass.,  and  in  company  with  him  went  to  old 
St.   Martin's  Church,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 


2;o      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.     ' ""  ^ 

It  is  said  to  be  the  first  place  of  worship  used  by  the 
British  after  their  conversion  from  heathenism.  It 
stands  on  a  slight  elevation,  surrounded  by  an  old 
graveyard.  When  Bertha,  the  daughter  of  Chere- 
bert,  king  of  Parasii,  who  was  a  Christian,  married 
King  Ethelbert,  she  requested  him  to  allow  her  the 
free  exercise  of  her  religion,  which  he  granted.  When 
St.  Augustine,  accompanied  by  forty  companions, 
came  over  on  a  mission  to  England  in  596,  they  landed 
on  the  Isle  of  Thant.  He  sent  a  message  to  King 
Ethelbert,  saying  he  had  come  from  a  distant  coun- 
try to  open  the  gates  of  Heaven  for  the  king  and  his 
subjects.  On  receiving  it,  the  king  sent  back  a  favor- 
able reply  and  appointed  a  place  of  meeting  and  when 
St.  Augustine  and  his  fellow-workers  approached, 
bearing  in  front  of  them  a  silver  cross  and  the  portrait 
of  Christ  and  chanting  the  litany,  it  made  such  a  deep 
impression  on  the  king  that  he  listened  with  rapt  at- 
tention to  it  and  also  the  discourse  given  by  St.  Au-' 
gustine.  He  was  shortly  after  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity and  his  example  had  such  a  powerful  influence 
over  the  pagan  priest  and  his  subjects  that  10,000  of 
them  followed  their  priest  to  baptism  and  embraced 
Christianity.  The  sexton,  showing  us  through  this 
old  church,  called  our  attention  to  a  finely  sculptured 
stone  baptismal  fount,  about  three  feet  high,  which 
traditionally  was  the  one  used  at  the  baptism  of  King 
Ethelbert.  Near  the  fount  was  the  trace  of  a  door 
which  the  sexton  said  was  opened  during  the  baptisms 
to  allow  the  bad  spirit  to  pass  out  of  the  candidate. 
If  they  were  like  many  that  live  in  the  present  age, 
there  was  a  procession  of  them  that  filed  through  the 
little  door,    We  were  shown  a  sarcophagus  that,  it  is 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.     ^t 

said,  contains  the  dust  of  Queen  Bertha.  In  the  wall 
in  front  of  the  church,  near  the  door,  was  a  square 
aperture  called  the  "peep  hole"  for  lepers.  Through 
it  they  were  allowed  to  watch  the  service,  but  com- 
pelled to  leave  before  it  closed. 

From  this  old  historic  church  we  walked  out  to  the 
St.  Nicholas  Church  and  hospital  at  Harbledown, 
which  is  about  a  mile  distant  from  the  town.  This 
hospital  and  church  was  founded  by  Archbishop  Lau- 
f ranee  in  1080  especially  for  lepers.  The  attendant, 
who  was  an  old  man.  showed  us  a  number  of  old  relics. 
Some  of  them  once  belonged  to  St.  Thomas  a  Beck- 
ett. There  was  an  old  oaken  chest  which  the  attend- 
ant said  was  800  years  old.  There  were  pewter  plates 
and  cooking  utensils  once  used  by  the  lepers  and  many 
other  old  relics  which  dated  back  in  the  past.  The 
old  church,  which  stands  on  the  opposite  side,  remains 
as  it  did  centuries  ago.  One  of  the  windows,  which 
is  500  years  old,  is  magnificent.  It  represents  Eze- 
kiel's  vision.  The  rude,  straight  back  seats  were  said 
to  be  600  years  old.  As  we  wandered  through  the 
old  edifice  I  fancied  I  could  see  those  poor,  afflicted 
ones  sitting  on  those  old  benches  listening  to  the  story 
of  Him  who,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  spake  words  of 
comfort  and  cheer  and  also  healed  many  who  were 
aiTlicted  in  like  manner, 

"How  long  since  there  were  any  cases  of  leprosy  in 
the  hospital?"  we  inquired. 

"Not  since  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, which  time  it  disappeared  from  England,"  he  re- 
plied. 

Qn  returning  from  tl)^re  we  stopped  ^t  the  Black 


272      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Prince's  well,  a  place  to  which  he  resorted.       His 
tomb  is  in  the  old  Canterbury  Cathedral. 

FORDWICH. 

One  day  we  took  the  train  and  went  to  Sturry,  a 
distance  of  two  miles,  and  walked  to  Fordwich,  a  short 
distance  from  the  former  place,  through  which  flows 
the  River  Stour.  It  is  a  very  ancient  town ;  some  of 
the  houses  were  several  hundred  years  old.  The 
most  interesting  place  to  me  was  the  old  town  hall, 
which  is  700  years  old.  The  attendant,  in  taking  us 
through  the  hall,  pointed  out  to  us  some  relics  that 
were  hundreds  of  years  old. 

"Here  is  an  old  oaken  chest,"  she  said,  "that  was 
supposed  to  have  been  made  in  the  ninth  century." 
It  was  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation.  "This  is  the  old 
court  room,"  she  remarked,  as  we  came  into  a  large 
room  containing  many  other  relics,  among  them 
being  a  table  800  years  old,  and  a  curfew  drum  and  a 
charter  bearing  the  date  of  1660.  There  was  also  a 
list  of  names  of  the  mayors  of  this  once  prosperous 
little  town  dating  from  1292  to  1884.  "This  room," 
she  remarked,  "is  as  it  was  centuries  ago."  As  I 
stood  with  my  hand  resting  on  the  rail  of  the  prison- 
ers* dock,  imagined  I  could  see  the  different  charac- 
ters who  had  received  their  sentences  from  judges  that 
sat  on  the  old  bench  long  years  ago.  But  the  wheel 
of  time  had  carried  both  judges  and  prisoners  out  to 
the  great  beyond.  "This  is  the  ducking  chair,"  she 
said,  pointing  to  an  odd-looking  wooden  chair  with 
a  foot  rest.  The  chair  resembled  a  swing  for  a  small 
child. 

"What  was  that  used  for?"  we  asked. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      273 

''For  scolding  wives,"  she  replied.  The  chair,  she 
said,  was  attached  to  a  crane  standing  on  the  wharf 
back  of  the  hall.  The  unruly  sister  was  strapped  in 
the  chair  and  swung  out  some  distance  and  then 
dipped  in  the  River  Stour  until  they  thought  she  had 
decided  to  control  her  tongue.  Then  she  was  taken 
out  and  placed  in  the  "dripping  loft"  and  left  until  her 
clothing  dried. 

When  I  climbed  up  the  stairway  and  looked  into  the 
little  room  where  had  sat  many  disturbers  of  the  peace 
of  the  domicile,  I  fancied  I  could  see  them  sitting  there 
fortifying  themselves  for  another  attack  on  the  head 
of  the  house.  If  there  was  a  penalty  now  of  that  kind 
for  scolding  wives,  those  who  gave  the  unruly  sisters 
their  bath  would  be  kept  busy.  Many  of  them, 
though,  have  just  cause  for  scolding.  If  the  lads  who 
use  their  tongues  freely  in  abusing  their  wives  and  also 
who  frequently  treat  them  to  a  thrashing  were  treated 
to  a  dip  in  the  ducking  chair,  they  might  possibly  be 
cured  of  their  pugilistic  tendencies.  The  ducking 
chair  was  also  used  for  those  charged  with  witchcraft. 
The  same  kind  of  superstition  once  existed  in  Amer- 
ica. Many  innocent  people  were  charged  with  it  and 
received  a  more  severe  penalty  than  the  ducking  chair. 
Any  one  reading  the  poem  by  Whittier,  entitled  "The 
Witch's  Daughter,"  can  form  some  idea  of  how  far 
people  carried  their  superstitious  notions. 

A  few  years  ago  in  visiting  the  Court  House  at  Sa- 
lem, Mass.,  I  saw  a  bottle  containing  pins  with  which, 
it  was  said,  supposed  witches  perforated  their  vic- 
tims. There  was  also  a  death  warrant  for  a  woman 
charged  with  witchcraft,  giving  her  name.  It  read  as 
follows :  "Shall  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until  dead  and 

18 


274      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

buried,"  and,  seeing  the  mistake,  they  had  crossed  off 
the  word  buried.  America,  as  well  as  England,  has 
arisen  above  superstition  of  that  kind. 

On  coming  out  to  the  wharf  we  were  interested  in 
looking  at  the  crane  to  which  the  chair,  until  recently, 
was  attached.  It  was  removed  and  placed  in  the  hall 
after  some  mischievous  lads  had  placed  one  of  their 
companions  in  it  and,  not  knowing  just  how  to  ma- 
nipulate it,  would  have  drowned  the  lad  but  for  the 
timely  assistance  of  some  men  who  chanced  to  be 
passing. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD  ^^ 

CHAPTER    XXXrV. 

DOVER  AND  MARGATE,  SEASIDE  RESORTS. 

BOVER  is  a  seaside  resort  about  sixteen  mites 
from  Canterbury.  It  is  beautifully  situated 
in  a  valley,  on  either  side  of  which  are  tv^o  im- 
mense hills  that  extend  out  to  the  sea  front,  forming- 
great  bluffs.  On  one  of  these  great  hills,  near  the 
brow  of  the  white  cliffs,  is  an  old  castle,  now  used  as 
a  military  post,  and  is  garrisoned  by  several  hundred 
soldiers.  Near  the  castle  is  a  church  called  St.  Mary's- 
in-the-Castle.  It  was  once  a  Roman  building  and 
was  converted  into  a  church  during  the  Roman's  pos- 
session of  Britain.  From  this  point  one  gets  a  splen- 
did view  of  the  town  and  surrounding  country.  In 
l"Ooking  across  the  valley  to  the  hill  on  the  opposite 
sid'e,  I  saw  a  detachment  of  soldiers  making  their  way 
around  the  hill.  As  they  climbed  the  winding,  white, 
chalk  road,  dressed  in  their  flashy  red  coats  and  black 
pants,  and  their  guns  glistening  in  the  sunlight,  they 
presented  quite  a  fine  picture.  From  this  great  hill 
of  a  clear  day  can  be  seen  the  faint  outHne  of  France 
oil  the  opposite  side  of  the  English  channel.  This  is 
th'e  nearest  point  to  France.  There  is  a  line  of  steam- 
ers plying  between  Dover  and  Calais.  I  w^as  out  on 
the  long  stone  pier  when  one  of  the  steamers  landed. 
The  old  channel  is  like  the  Irish  sea,  easily  disturbed, 
and  she  had  treated  the  people  badly.  Some  of  them 
seemed  to  be  about  used  up  and  were  glad  to  again 
st-ep  on  ''terra  firma.'' 


2^  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

Before  leaving-  the  old  castle,  I  looked  in  on  the 
soldiers.  They  were  partaking  of  a  good,  substantial 
meal.  I  said  to  one  of  the  lads  who  was  from  the 
"Old  Sod" :    "You  seem  to  be  enjoying  yourself." 

He  said,  as  he  sat  in  front  of  a  huge  plate  of  proven- 
der :  "Sure,  sir,  this  is  how  we  stay  in  this  old  world, 
by  keeping  well  filled." 

One  of  the  lads,  vv^ho  v/as  not  yet  out  of  his  teens, 
informed  me  that  his  father  and  brother  were  serving 
in  the  Queen's  army.  "Mother  is  a  bit  worried,"  he 
said,  "to  have  us  all  away,  but  some  one  must  defend 
the  rights  of  our  good,  old  Queen." 

There  is  a  beautiful  park  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  at 
the  entrance  of  v/hich  is  an  archv/ay  made  of  the  jaw 
bones  of  a  huge  whale.  The  town  has  a  fine  sea  front, 
along  which  are  a  number  of  large  hotels.  It  is  quite 
a  busy  little  place.  Its  merchants  seemed  quite  up 
to  date  and  understood  quite  v/ell  how  to  gather  in  the 
shillings.  A  gentleman  whom  I  asked  for  some  in- 
formation, after  giving  it,  spent  some  time  in  showing 
miC  the  points  of  interest  in  the  old  town.  He  proved 
to  be  a  very  fine  fellow.  He  gave  his  name  as  Trotall. 
I  remarked  to  him  it  would  be  a  very  appropriate  name 
for  myself,  as  I  kept  my  feet  moving  about  quite 
briskly  over  various  parts  of  the  country.  They  were 
improving  the  harbor  which,  when  finished,  they  said 
would  be  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world.  The  entire 
day  was  spent  in  looking  about  this  fine  old  town. 
The  ride  back  to  Canterbury  was  a  very  enjoyable  one. 

MARGATE. 

One  fine  morning  we  took  the  train  from  Canter- 
bury for  this  very  old  seaside  resort,  which  was  a  com- 


I       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      277 

paratively  short  ride.  The  train  ran  down  to  Rams- 
gate,  which  is  smaller  but  a  more  fashionable  resort. 
The  view  of  it  from  the  station  gave  us  some  little  idea 
of  the  beauty  of  the  town.  A  few  minutes'  ride 
brought  us  to  Margate.  Upon  coming  out  of  the 
station  to  the  sea  front  we  saw  a  group  of  people  on 
the  beach  being  entertained  by  an  amateur  troupe 
who  were  playing  the  death  of  Cock  Robin.  They 
were  being  assisted  by  a  number  of  children  which 
they  had  gathered  from  the  crowd.  They  were 
marching  around  the  circle,  carrying  dilapidated  look- 
ing stuffed  birds  and  chanting  the  funeral  dirge.  The 
audience  semed  to  be  delighted  with  the  performance. 
We  only  tarried  a  short  time  at  this  point.  It  failed 
to  interest  us.  I  was  of  the  same  opinion  as  was  the 
old  colored  woman  who  came  into  a  business  house 
one  day  where  I  was  engaged.  One  of  the  clerks  be- 
gan guying  her.  She  gave  him  a  very  significant  look 
and  said :  "Didn't  you  know  I  was  too  old  to  play  with 
rag  babies?"  I,  too,  had  swept  far  beyond  the  age  to 
be  amused  with  an  entertainment  of  that  kind. 

On  the  strand  were  a  few  bathing  cars.  They  were 
not  doing  a  very  thriving  business.  Bathing  did  not 
seem  to  be  quite  as  popular  as  in  America.  There 
was  an  absence  of  young  people  parading  the  beach, 
wearing  very  brief,  flashy  bathing  suits,  such  as  are 
seen  at  the  American  seaside  resorts.  We  continued 
our  walk  along  the  sea  front  until  we  came  to  the 
pier  which  is  900  feet  long.  It  was  well  filled  with 
people,  many  of  whom  were  listening  to  a  brass  band 
in  the  little  pavilion  playing  some  very  fine  airs.  Most 
ol  the  people  were  excursionists  from  London  who 


278      A  YANKEE  BACHELOIR  ABROAD.       ^ 

had  come  down  in  the  steamers  which  were  lying  at 
the  pier. 

We  noticed  a  man  coming  down  toward  the  en- 
trance of  the  pier,  looking  around  in  a  very  excited 
manner.  Presently  he  espied  three  boys  coming  leis- 
urely along.  He  hurried  to  them  and  said  to  one  of 
the  boys : 

"Where  have  you  been?  We  have  searched  every- 
where for  you,"  and  finished  his  sentence  by  giving  the 
boy  a  severe  blow  on  the  head.  The  other  boys 
shyed  off  as  if  they  expected  to  be  treated  in  like  man- 
ner. An  old  sailor  who  had  witnessed  the  man  ad- 
minister the  blow,  said : 

"Yo  h'ought  to  be  ashamed  to  hit  a  boy  in  that 
way." 

"What's  that  your  business?  The  boy  belongs  to 
me,"  the  man  replied. 

"It  matters  not  whether  he's  yours  or  not ;  you  hit 
him  again,  and  I'll  give  you  the  same  kind  of  a  dose," 
said  the  sailor,  getting  himself  in  a  fighting  attitude. 

"Go  on  about  your  business.  Til  do  as  I  please 
with  the  lad."  Just  as  they  were  getting  up  to  the 
fighting  point  the  steamer's  whistle  blew  and  the  man 
and  boys  hurried  away,  the  man  getting  the  full  ben- 
efit of  the  sailor's  tongue.  He  dropped  some  sen- 
tences that  were  badly  frayed  out.  The  boy  looked 
as  though  he  would  have  enjoyed  seeing  the  sailor 
neatly  trim  his  father. 

The  ride  from  London  on  one  of  these  steamers  is 
an  enjoyable  one  of  a  pleasant  day,  but  when  caught  in 
a  storm,  which  they  frequently  are,  it's  a  most  distress- 
ing one,  as  the  sea  tosses  those  boats  about  like  a  cork. 
While  we  were  on  the  pier  there  was  a  large  steamer 


F  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  279 

touched  at  the  pier,  making  her  daily  excursion  trip 
to  Bologne,  France. 

Margate  has  a  population  of  20,000.  The  hotels 
and  private  houses  are  built  of  stone  and  the  asphalt 
pavements  give  the  town  a  very  neat  appearance. 
This  is  the  principal  seaside  resort  on  the  south  coast. 
It  is  called  London-by-the-Sea.  There  were  crowds 
of  the  up-to-date  lads  and  lassies  promenading  the 
fine  walk  along  the  sea  front,  evidently  not  listening 
to  what  the  "sad  sea  waves  were  saying."  In  our 
walk  through  the  town  we  came  to  a  beautiful  park, 
which  was  quite  an  ornament  to  the  place.  Some  of 
the  houses  in  one  part  of  the  town  were  very  old.  We 
left  Margate  well  pleased  with  the  day  spent  at  an- 
other one  of  Old  England's  seaside  resorts. 

The  following  are  brief  sketches  of  some  towns  vis- 
ited in  England : 

NEW-CASTLE-UPON-TYNH. 

This  is  a  manufacturing  town  with  a  population  of 
175,000.  It  is  a  noted  ship-building  place.  The 
town  is  built  on  three  hills  on  the  River  Tyne,  nine  and 
one-half  miles  from  its  mouth.  Some  of  the  residen- 
tial portions  of  the  city  contain  a  number  of  splendid 
homes.  It  is  a  dingy  city,  made  so  by  the  great 
clouds  of  smoke  that  come  from  its  many  industries. 
I  only  spent  a  few  hours  in  Newcastle,  then  hurried 
off  to  another  point. 

DURHAM. 

This  beautiful  town,  which  stands  on  a  hill  almost 
surrounded  by  the  River  Wear,  contains  a  large  and 


a8o      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

magnificent  cathedral  and  castle.  The  latter  was 
built  by  William  the  Conqueror.  The  cathedral 
stands  on  this  high  hill  overlooking  a  beautiful  valley 
through  which  winds  the  river.  I  climbed  the  wind- 
ing stairway  of  the  large  dome  and  from  the  balcony 
had  a  view  of  the  country  for  miles  around.  Tourists 
will  find  Durham  an  interesting  point. 

YORK. 

This  very  ancient  city  has  a  population  of  55,000, 
and  is  191  miles  from  London.  York  is  said  to  have 
been  founded  983  B.  C.  In  150  A.  D.  it  was  a  great 
Roman  station.  Here  Emperor  Severus  died  and 
Constantine  the  Great,  it  is  said,  was  born  here.  Con- 
stantine's  father  died  here  in  307.  In  the  Saxon  era, 
York  was  noted  for  the  baptism  of  Edwin  of  North- 
umbria  by  Panlumus.  It  afterward  became  the  fav- 
orite capitol  of  the  Danes,  whose  chief  was  defeated 
by  Harold  in  1066. 

This  is  a  walled  city.  They  were  built  chiefly  during 
the  reign  of  Edward  III.  They  have  been  restored 
quite  often  since.  I  walked  around  on  top  of  the  walls 
and  came  down  a  stone  stairway  leading  to  one  of  the 
old  gates.  In  going  through  the  quaint  streets  of  the 
city  I  stopped  and  gazed  about  like  a  boy  paying  his 
first  visit  to  the  city.  Especially  so  on  coming  to 
what  is  called  the  shambles.  The  houses  on  this  very 
narrow,  winding  street  are  three  stories  and  project 
from  the  first  floor.  One  could  almost  touch  the 
house  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  third  floor.  King 
William's  old  palace,  now  used  by  the  parish  poor, 
and  King  James'  old  palace,  used  as  a  blind  asylum, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      281 

and  the  merchants'  Adventurer's  Hall,  which  is  800 
years  old,  and  the  York  Minister,  one  of  the  finest  ca- 
thedrals in  England,  are  all  places  of  great  interest. 
The  cathedral  was  completed  in  1472.  If  the  reader 
should  visit  Old  England  they  will  find  the  old  city 
of  York  one  of  the  most  interesting  points  in  that 
country. 

CHESTER. 

Chester  is  also  a  walled  city  and  I  greatly  enjoyed 
a  walk  around  the  old  walls.  Many  of  the  houses  are 
quite  as  ancient  looking  as  those  I  saw  in  York. 
There  is  also  a  magnificent  cathedral  here,  which  is 
well  worth  a  visit. 

NOTTINGHAM. 

Is  a  busy  city ;  stands  on  a  rocky  eminence  near  the 
River  Trent.  It  is  the  principal  place  for  the  making 
of  lace  and  hosiery  in  England.  It  has  a  population 
of  nearly  300,000.  My  friend,  Mr.  Marwood,  whom 
I  met  on  the  steamer  on  my  trip  across  in  1894,  sent 
me  an  invitation  to  spend  a  few  days  with  him.  The 
few  days  spent  in  that  old  city  were  thoroughly  en- 
joyed. 

WORCESTER. 

Is  another  place  in  which  I  visited  and  in  which 
I  was  greatly  interested.  The  Royal  Porcelain  works 
and  the  old  cathedral  were  the  principal  points  of  in- 
terest. I  should  like  to  have  given  the  reader  more 
elaborate  description  of  these  towns  and  cities,  but 
space  will  not  permit. 


282  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

LONDON. 

While  I  greatly  admired  the  many  large  and  hand- 
some buildings  and  splendid  boulevards  in  Paris,  and 
consider  it  one  of  the  finest  cities  I  have  ever  visited, 
yet  historic  old  London  has  a  charm  about  it  for  me 
that  Paris  or  any  other  city  has  not.  London  is 
crowded  with  interest,  and  especially  so  for  any  lover 
of  English  history.  One  needs  to  spend  considerable 
time  in  this  wonderful  city  in  order  to  see  all  the  inter- 
esting points.  When  I  came  out  of  the  St.  Pancras 
station  I  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  my  bearings, 
for  the  old  city  seemed  quite  familiar  to  me,  especially 
that  part  of  it.  I  made  my  way  to  Bernard  street, 
Russell  Square,  and  was  soon  comfortably  fixed  away 
in  the  old  home  where  I  formerly  lodged. 

The  children  who  had  made  the  house  ring  with 
their  merry  shouts  in  previous  years,  had  laid  aside 
their  toys  and  were  packing  their  heads  with  useful 
knowledge.  One  of  them  had  passed  beyond  her 
school  days  and,  like  many  other  hopeful  lassies,  was 
passing  through  the  blissful  stage  of  courtship,  with  a 
fair  prospect  of  going  on  to  the  matrimonial  stage  in 
which,  I  understand,  there  is  less  of  sentiment  and  far 
less  poetry.  This  was  a  large  apartment  house  in 
which  there  were  people  from  dififerent  parts  of  the 
world,  some  of  whom  were  in  the  great  city  on  busi- 
ness and  others  "sight  seeing." 

One  man  and  his  wife  were  from  my  own  native 
land  and  were  full-fledged  Yankees.  A  gentleman 
and  two  ladies  were  from  Australia.  There  was  also 
a  very  bright  and  interesting  fellow  from  South  Africa 
and  he  had  also  lived  on  the  Island  of  St.  Helena. 


London  Brido"e. 


Old  St.   Martin's  Church,    Canterbury,    England. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      283 

Then  there  was  a  bright,  genial  young  man  from 
Wales,  who  was  expecting  in  a  short  time  to  graduate 
at  one  of  the  colleges. 

He  said  to  me  one  day  in  speaking  of  his  home :  ''My 
governor  (referring  to  his  father)  died  a  few  months 
ago  and  when  he  left  us,  nearly  all  the  sunshine  went 
out  of  my  life.  He  was  such  a  bright,  sunny  man. 
My  life  was  bound  up  in  his.  I  found  it  difficult  to 
gather  up  the  threads  and  go  on  with  my  studies." 
Then  he  added :  "The  'governor'  was  one  of  the  best 
lawyers  (or  barristers,  as  they  are  called)  in  our  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  and  I  am  anxious  to  take  his  place 
if  possible,  but  it  will  take  hard  plodding." 

I  thought  there  was  good  timber  in  that  Welch  lad. 
There  was  also  a  great,  stalwart  Englishman  who  had 
been  living  in  one  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  and  his  brother  were  engaged  in 
business  there. 

"I  am  expecting  to  return  soon,"  he  said,  "but  I 
dread  going  back." 

We  soon  learned  that  the  principal  reason  was  that 
his  bachelor-heart  had  been  pierced  by  cupid's  dart, 
and,  being  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  it  had  handled 
him  rather  severely,  which,  I  am  told,  is  usually  the 
case.  He  expressed  himself  as  being  very  hopeful  of 
soon  coming  again  to  London  and  joining  hands  with 
this  fair  daughter  of  Old  England  and  returning  with 
her  to  that  far-ofT  Island. 

London  was  once  a  walled  city  and  some  parts  of 
the  old  walls  are  still  remaining.  What  is  known  as 
the  city  lies  between  Temple  Bar  on  the  west  and  Aid- 
gate  on  the  east,  the  Thames  on  the  south  and  Smith- 
field  and  Finsbury  Circus  on  the  north.     Boroughs 


384      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

and  villages  have  been  added  to  it  until  now  it  covers 
an  area  of  700  square  miles  and  has  6,600  miles  of 
streets,  and  over  600,000  buildings  and  a  population 
of  nearly  6,000,000,  made  up  of  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  world.  In  passing  through  the  Italian  quar- 
ters a  few  days  after  the  assassination  of  the  King  of 
Italy,  and  seeing  the  great  display  of  Italian  flags  tied 
with  crepe,  and  hearing  the  people  conversing  in  their 
own  tongue,  made  me  almost  think  I  was  in  that 
sunny  country. 

In  conversation  with  one  of  the  policemen  he  in- 
formed me  there  were  700  city  and  16,000  metropoli- 
tan policemen.  This  finely  governed  city  can  well 
boast  of  its  splendid  police  service.  They  are  men  who 
thoroughly  understand  their  business  and  are  fine, 
obliging  officers.  I  have  never  asked  them  for  any 
information  in  their  line  but  what  they  gave  it  to  me 
cheerfully  and  in  a  very  gentlemanly  manner.  They 
are  not  appointed  because  of  any  political  opinion 
they  may  hold,  but  on  their  merits,  and  retain  their  po- 
sition so  long  as  they  are  faithful  to  duty,  and  when 
they  are  disabled  are  pensioned.  Many  of  the  public 
buildings  are  quite  large  and  principally  built  of  stone. 
In  the  residential  portion  of  the  city  are  long  rows  of 
houses,  ranging  from  two  to  five  stories  high,  usually 
built  of  dingy  colored  brick.  They  also  have  the  ten- 
ement system,  many  of  them  being  very  large  flats. 
There  is  an  absence  of  the  "Tower  of  Babel"  style  of 
buildings,  such  as  are  seen  in  most  of  our  American 
cities. 

A  man  in  Dublin,  one  day,  called  my  attention  to  a 
large  building  on  Sackville  street  and  said :  "Do  yees 
bave  buildings  the  size  of  that  in  America?" 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  285 

I  smiled  and  said,  *'Oh,  yes ;  we  have  them  thirty 
stories  high." 

With  a  look  of  surprise  he  remarked :  "Och,  sure'n 
yees  must  shake  hands  with  the  clouds." 

I  found  one  of  the  best  ways  to  see  London  was 
from  the  top  of  an  omnibus.  There  are  very  many 
lines  running  to  all  parts  of  the  city  and  suburbs, 
the  fare  being  a  penny  a  mile.  Very  many  of  the  driv- 
ers are  regular  bureaus  of  information  and  take  great 
pleasure  in  pointing  out  the  places  of  interest  to 
strangers  sitting  near  them.  I  wondered  how  they 
managed  to  avoid  a  collision  driving  through  the 
densely  crowded  streets,  but  they  seem  to  thoroughly 
understand  the  art  of  driving  through  a  small  space. 

The  ride  down  the  strand  to  Charing  Cross  and 
Trafalgar  Square,  Piccadilly  Circus,  to  Hyde  Park, 
is  one  that  I  always  enjoyed,  and  also  along  Regent 
and  Oxford  streets,  on  either  side  of  which  are  very 
many  splendid  shops. 

One  day  I  rode  from  Chelsea,  which  is  some  dis- 
tance up  the  Thames,  to  the  London  Bridge,  and  from 
the  top  of  the  'bus  saw  a  good  portion  of  the  city. 
London  Bridge  is  918  feet  long,  built  in  1825.  It  is 
a  wonderful  bridge  from  the  fact  of  the  great  amount 
of  traffic  that  passes  over  it.  It  is  densely  crowded  all 
through  the  day.  It  is  said  there  are  100,000  pedes- 
trians and  20,000  vehicles  that  cross  it  daily. 

"Where  does  this  vast  multitude  come  from?"  I 
asked  a  gentleman  one  day. 

"Oh,  sir,  from  the  different  railway  stations  on  the 
Surry  side,  and  then,  too,  there  is  an  immense  popula- 
tion on  that  side  of  the  river,"  he  replied. 

Frequently  from  this,  and  Black  Friars,  and  Water- 


286  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

loo  Bridges  men  and  women,  with  no  light  in  the  lan- 
tern of  hope,  throw  themselves  over  into  the  swift 
flowing  Thames  and  sink  beneath  its  dark  waters. 

The  Tower  Bridge  is  comparatively  new.  It  was 
opened  to  traffic  with  great  pomp  and  show  in  the 
summer  of  1894.  The  Prince  of  Wales  took  part  in 
the  programme.  Not  far  from  the  London  Bridge 
is  the  Old  Tower  of  London,  built  on  the  banks  of  the 
Thames  on  the  brow  of  Tower  Hill.  On  this  spot 
very  many  distinguished  persons  have  met  their 
death  at  the  hands  of  the  executor.  Mr.  Bailey  says, 
in  his  history  of  the  tower:  "It  was  built  about  the 
time  of  Constantine  the  Great,  and  it  is  supposed  to 
owe  its  origin  to  the  Romans."  It  is  also  stated  that 
it  was  the  treasury  of  the  mint  of  the  Romans  and  the 
reason  given  by  Doctor  Mills  for  this  assertion  is  that 
in  laying  the  foundation  for  the  new  ordinance  build- 
ing the  workmen  discovered  an  ingot  of  silver  with  im- 
pressions of  Roman  characters  and  also  several  gold 
coins. 

William  the  Conqueror  built  the  famous  white 
tower  and  during  the  time  of  William's  two  sons,  Wil- 
liam Rufus  and  Henry  I,  several  important  fortifica- 
tions were  added.  This  old  tower  has  been  used  both 
as  a  royal  residence  and  as  a  prison.  Stephen  is  the 
first  monarch  that  is  mentioned  as  residing  here.  King 
John  kept  his  court  in  the  tower  and  made  many  ad- 
ditions to  the  fortifications.  In  121 5  the  barons  be- 
seiged  it  and  King  John  was  forced  to  make  many 
concessions  among  others  signing  the  Magna  Charter, 
the  photo  of  which  I  saw  in  the  British  Museum. 
During  the  reign  of  Mary,  Lady  Jane  Grey  was  im- 
prisoned here  and  finally  was  executed  on  Tower 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  287 

Green.  I  stood  on  this  spot  where  she  and  Ann 
Boelyn  both  met  their  death  and  afterward  visited  the 
old  church  in  the  tower  where  Lady  Jane  Grey  was 
buried.  I  also  visited  the  part  called  the  Beauchamp 
tower  where  she  and  very  many  other  prominent  per- 
sons were  confined  as  prisoners.  As  I  passed  through 
the  different  rooms  where  these  men  and  women  had 
languished,  many  of  them  innocent  of  any  crime  but 
simply  the  victims  of  the  hatred  of  some  crowned  head 
or  some  one  high  in  authority.  I  said  to  the  gentle- 
man with  me :  ''We  need  to  be  glad  we  live  in  an  age 
when  such  injustice  and  cruelty  would  not  be  toler- 
ated." 

On  the  walls  were  some  very  curious  inscriptions 
and  devices.  Some  I  copied  from  my  guide  book, 
which  read  as  follows : 

"I.  H.  S.  A  passage  perilous  maketh  the  port 
pleasant. — ^Arthur  Pool,  A.  D.  1568.  As  virtue  mak- 
eth life,  so  sin  causeth  death. — ^Thomas  Baudwin,  July, 

1585." 

At  the  base  of  the  windows  is  this  inscription: 
"Learn  to  fear  God,"  and  below  the  inscription  the 
monagram  J.  C.  1538. 

It  is  supposed  to  have  been  some  one  connected 
with  the  Irish  rebellion.  There  was  an  Italian  in- 
scription which  had  been  translated:  "Oh,  unhappy 
man  that  I  think  myself  to  be."  Another  inscription : 
"I  am  waiting  for  liberty,"  dated  1587.  "It  is  a  re- 
proach to  be  bound  in  the  cause  of  sin,  but  to  sustain 
the  bonds  of  prison,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  is  the  great- 
est glory." — Arundell,  26  of  May,  1587. 

Among  the  most  noted  prisoners  confined  in  the 
tower  have  been  King  John  of  France,  David  Bruce 


288  A  YANICEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

of  Scotland,  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  Lord  Russell 
In  the  horse  armory  are  ancient  armors  dating  from 
1 272-1 6 1 8.  These  were  once  worn  by  princes  and 
nobles.  In  another  department  were  trophies  from 
Quebec,  Malta,  India  and  various  other  places.  There 
were  also  very  many  very  old  relics,  among  them  be- 
ing the  block  on  which  Lord  Lovatt  was  beheaded, 
and  also  the  axe  with  which  it  was  done.  There  were 
instruments  of  torture  of  different  kinds,  among  them 
being  the  thumb  screw.  In  the  Jewel  House  are  the 
crown  jewels,  valued  at  $15,000,000.  Among  them 
was  the  late  Queen  Victoria's  crown,  containing  2,783 
diamonds  and  a  sapphire  and  ruby.  The  crown  cost 
$560,000.  There  were  a  number  of  other  crowns,  but 
none  of  them  so  costly  and  elaborate  as  Victoria's. 
The  glass  case  containing  the  crown  jewels  was  sur- 
rounded with  an  iron  railing.  William  Penn,  so  hon- 
ored in  America,  was  born  on  Tower  Hill. 

A  few  minutes'  walk  brings  one  to  old  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  which  shows  the  touch  of  time.  As  one 
looks  at  this  edifice  he  concludes  that  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  who  built  the  cathedral  in  1 665-1 700,  had  ex- 
cellent ideas  of  architecture.  It  is  a  latin  cross  with  a 
nave  500x118  feet,  transept  250  feet.  The  height 
to  the  cross  on  the  top  of  the  dome  is  404  feet.  The 
cathedral  is  furnished  with  very  plain  seats,  with  a 
sprinkling  of  old  fashioned  rush-bottom  chairs.  The 
floors  are  of  stone  and,  like  all  the  cathedrals  that  I 
visited,  had  a  cheerless  appearance.  In  this  cathedral 
are  a  number  of  monuments  and  tablets. in  memory 
of  some  of  England's  illustrious  dead.  In  the  crypt 
was  Wellington's  hearse,  made  of  the  cannons  cap- 
tured in  the  different  battles  in  which  he  was  engaged. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  289 

From  the  dome  I  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  city  and 
the  surrounding  country. 

I  attended  seridce  at  the  cathedral  several  times  and 
quite  enjoyed  it.  Most  of  the  service  was  rendered 
by  the  fine  choir.  The  last  service  I  attended  there  I 
listened  to  a  most  excellent  sermon  by  one  of  the  cel- 
ebrated divines  whose  name  I  cannot  recall.  If  each 
one  of  us  who  listened  to  that  sermon  would  spin  the 
threads  of  practical  truth  through  our  lives,  that  the 
clergyman  passed  out,  our  influence  for  good  would 
be  far-reaching. 

The  great  Bank  of  England  is  in  the  vicinity  of  St. 
Paul's.  I  had  occasion  to  go  there  one  day,  and  saw 
gold  in  abundance.  "But  only  with  my  eyes  could 
I  behold  it." 

The  mansion  house,  which  is  a  fine,  old  building,  is 
also  in  this  locality. 

From  here  one  soon  finds  his  way  to  Cheap  Side,  a 
busy  street  with  many  handsome  shops.  It  is  gen- 
erally so  crowded  that  one  finds  it  difficult  to  make  his 
way  along,  especially  so  when  the  ladies  are  out  in  full 
force  spending  their  shillings. 

The  old  Bow  Church  stands  on  this  street  with  its 
tower  235  feet  high.  Every  one  born  wdthin  the 
sound  of  the  Bow  church  bells  are  called  "Cokneys." 
From  this  thoroughfare  runs  Bread  street,  where 
Milton,  the  great  poet,  was  born;  and  Milk  street, 
where  Sir  Thomas  Moore  first  saw  the  light  of  day. 
Fleet  street  runs  from  near  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  to  the 
Strand,  passing  Congregational  Hall,  on  the  site  of 
the  Fleet  Prison,  made  famous  by  Dickens.  One 
can  scarcely  put  his  feet  down  in  London  without  step- 
ping on  historic  ground.     The  Strand,  v^hich  is  also 

19 


290      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

a  crowded  street,  leads  to  Charing  Cross.  At  the 
Charing  Cross  railway  station  one  can  take  a  train  to 
the  south  coast  of  England.  Several  times  I  patron- 
ized this  road  in  going  to  Canterbury. 

One  day  on  coming  into  this  station  I  inquired  of 
one  of  the  platform  guards  where  I  would  find  drink- 
ing water. 

''In  yon  corner,"  he  replied.  But  in  going  to 
"yon"  corner  I  failed  to  find  the  desired  article.  Not 
wanting  to  begin  the  journey  of  sixty  miles  to  Canter- 
bury before  slaking  my  thirst,  I  began  to  search  dil- 
igently for  the  spring. 

'The  guard  told  me  there  was  drinking  water  in  this 
part  of  the  station,  but  I  can't  find  it,"  I  said  to  a  man 
standing  near  by. 

"Oh,  we  don't  drink  much  water  over  here,"  he  re- 
marked. 

"So  I  have  observed,"  I  replied,,  and  added:  "I 
think  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  if  you  drank  more  of  it 
and  less  of  something  strong." 

He  said  nothing,  but  gazed  at  me  as  if  he  regarded 
me  as  a  curiosity. 

I  finally  found  some  water  in  one  of  the  private 
offices.  I  said  to  the  man  in  charge :  "I  think  your 
railroad  companies  have  considerable  to  learn,  and 
one  of  the  most  important  is  the  comfort  and  conven- 
ience of  their  patrons,"  and  further  remarked:  "Our 
railway  stations  are  furnished  with  excellent  drinking 
water,  as  well  as  our  trains." 

i  He  said,  with  considerable  meaning  in  his  remark : 
"I  think  we  can  all  learn  something." 

I  presume  he  thought  I  might  learn  to  hold  my 
tongue  a  "bit  more"  steady,  which  possibly  would  be 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.    "  291 

a  wise  thing  to  do  even  in  a  place  where  water  was 
scarce. 

A  few  minutes'  walk  brings  one  to  Trafalgar  Square, 
which  is  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  that  section  of 
the  city.  A  column,  177  feet  high,  in  memory  of  Nel- 
son, stands  in  the  centre  of  the  circle  and  near  it  is  a 
heautiful  fountain.  On  one  side  of  the  street  opposite 
the  square  stands  the  old  National  Art  Gallery,  con- 
taining over  1,000  fine  paintings,  many  being  master- 
pieces of  the  artists  of  the  long  ago.  This  is  one  of 
the  places  that  I  found  it  difficult  to  leave. 

Whitehall  leads  south  to  Whitehall  Palace.  It  is  a 
massive  stone  building  w^hich  has  quite  an  interesting 
history  connected  with  it.  Here  is  where  Henry  VHI 
spent  most  of  his  time  and  where  he  first  met  Anne 
Boelyn,  and  where  he  finally  laid  aside  his  royal  robes 
and  made  his  way  out  into  the  unseen  world..  Milton 
and  Cromwell  are  said  to  have  resided  here  and  the 
latter  closed  up  his  eventful  life  in  this  old  palace. 
Near  by  is  the  famous  Scotland  yards,  the  police  head- 
quarters. I  had  occasion  to  go  there  one  day  to  see 
one  of  the  officers  who  was  a  relative  of  a  friend  of 
mine  in  America.  It  is  an  immense  place.  The 
headquarters  of  the  Army  Horse  Guards  is  nearly  op- 
posite to  Whitehall  palace.  The  mounted  guards  at 
the  entrance  seemed  like  a  piece  of  statuary,  as  neither 
the  horse  nor  the  rider  seemed  to  move  a  muscle. 

Only  a  short  distance  away  stands  the  House  of 
Parliament.  It  is  a  large  structure,  standing  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  covering  eight  acres.  It  has 
eleven  courts  and  1,100  rooms.  It  was  erected  in 
i840-i85oat  a  cost  of  $15,000,000.  Among  the  three 
large  towxrs  on  the  building  is  the  clock  tower,  which 


292      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

is  318  feet  high.  It  has  a  huge  clock  dial,  twenty- 
three  feet  across,  and  a  bell  called  ''Big  Ben/'  weigh- 
ing thirteen  tons,  which  can  be  heard  for  a  great  dis- 
tance. I  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  hearing 
''Big  Ben"  ring  out  the  hour  of  twelve  the  first  night 
I  spent  in  this  great  city.  I  was  to  meet  some  gen- 
tlemen at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  at  Exeter  Hall  on  the 
Strand,  and  stop  at  the  same  hotel  with  them.  But 
through  some  misunderstanding  they  failed  to  mater- 
ialize and  I  found  myself  at  a  very  late  hour  without 
hotel  accommodation.  It  being  the  night  of  the 
Derby  races,  when  the  hotels  are  usually  crowded,  I 
failed  to  find  a  place.  The  assistant  secretary  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  directed  me  to  the  Newington  Causeway 
Association  and  said  he  thought  I  might  find  shelter 
there  as  they  had  sleeping  apartments.  But  on  cross- 
ing the  Waterloo  bridge  and  after  going  that  long  dis- 
tance on  the  Surry  side,  I  failed  to  secure  a  bed. 

It  was  a  wild,  stormy  night  and  as  the  huge  clock 
struck  the  midnight  hour,  I  found  myself  in  a  rough 
part  of  this  immense  city  not  knowing  where  to  go, 
with  not  only  my  clothing  dampened,  but  also  my 
spirits.  I  wandered  along  Newington  Causeway, 
meeting  many  rough  looking  characters,  but  did  not 
venture  to  ask  of  them  any  information.  Finally  I 
met  a  policeman  who,  when  I  inquired  about  hotel  ac- 
commodation, took  all  the  wind  out  of  my  dampened 
sails  by  informing  me  I  was  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
river  for  hotels.  'There  is  not  one  short  of  London 
Bridge,"  he  said,  "which  is  a  twenty  minutes'  walk." 

On  nearing  that  locality,  I  saw  a  young  man  with 
a  traveling  bag,  conversing  with  a  policeman  and  con- 
cluded at  once  that  he,  too,  was  seeking  shelter. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       29.3 

As  I  drew  near  I  overheard  the  officer  say :  "I  can't 
tell  you  where  to  go.  I  have  sent  several  men  to  both 
of  those  hotels  (pointing  to  them  across  the  way)  and 
they  came  away  saying  they  were  crowded." 

I  informed  him  I,  too,  was  in  need  of  a  place  and, 
after  some  conversation  about  an  Italian  lodging 
house  in  the  vicinity,  he  piloted  the  stranger  and  my- 
self there.  I  had  strong  suspicions  of  the  place  as  we 
stopped  in  front  of  the  door  and  expressed  it  to  the 
officer,  but  he  assured  us  we  would  be  safe.  But  I  had 
serious  doubts  about  my  safety  as  I  walked  through 
that  long,  dark  hallway  and  climbed  the  stairway  to 
the  second  floor,  where  I  bade  the  stranger  good 
night.  These  doubts  increased  as  I  followed  the  Ital- 
ian with  his  flickering  penny  dip  along  another  dark 
hallway  and  then  climbed  another  flight  of  stairs. 
Upon  reaching  my  room  and  paying  the  required 
amount  and  getting  the  Italian  off  of  my  hands,  I  be- 
gan to  look  over  my  ''bundle"  to  see  if  I  had  it  prop- 
erly packed  for  the  journey  to  the  ''Great  Beyond,"  for 
I  was  not  sure  that  death  in  some  form  was  not  lurk- 
ing in  that  old,  dingy  looking  lodging  house.  But 
the  next  morning  when  the  sun  peeped  in  the  little, 
old  fashioned  windows,  I  found  myself  all  intact,  and 
soon  made  my  way  out  to  the  street  with  my  spirits 
in  their  normal  condition,  but  my  clothing  exceed- 
ingly damp.  On  my  reutrn  to  London  I  had  some 
curiosity  to  again  see  "Hotel  de  Italia,"  and  one  day 
crossed  the  London  Bridge  and  made  an  effort  to  lo- 
cate it.  Failing  to  do  so,  I  called  at  a  little  restaurant 
near  where  I  thought  it  should  be,  and  inquired  of  the 
proprietress  if  she  knew  of  an  Italian  restaurant  and 


294      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

lodging  house  in  that  locality.  She  came  to  the  door 
with  me  and  said : 

"It  was  where  those  new  offices  are." 

In  making  some  inquiry^  about  the  Italian,  she  said : 
"He  was  a  bad  man  and  had  to  leave  that  neighbor- 
hood/' and  the  last  she  heard  of  him  he  was  in  prison. 
I  thought  there  was  some  grounds  for  my  suspicions 
of  that  Italian  lodging  house  that  stormy  night. 

Returning  to  the  House  of  Parliament.  It  is  open 
to  visitors  on  Saturdays  from  lo  to  4,  and  any  one 
visiting  London  will  find  it  vrell  worth  a  visit,  and  if 
they  are  as  fortunate  as  I  was  in  getting  a  pass  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  I  think  Avill  find  themselves 
deeply  interested  in  listening  to  English  statesmen 
discussing  various  questions.  I  was  reminded  of  my 
visit  to  our  capitol  at  Washington,  where  I  heard 
some  of  our  great  statesmen  giving  their  opinions  at 
great  length  as  to  what  would  be  of  benefit  to  our 
wonderful  country.  I  greatly  admire  the  interior 
of  the  House  of  Parhament.  The  House  of  Lords  is 
97x45  feet  and  has  twelve  beautiful  stained  windows 
and  statues  of  the  Magna  Charter  Barons.  The 
House  of  Commons  is  62x45  feet  and  is  panelled  with 
oak,  and  has  also  twelve  stained  windows.  The 
Princes'  Chamber,  Upper  Waiting  Hall,  Peers'  Rob- 
ing Room,  Victoria's  Gallery  and  the  Queen's  Robing 
Room  are  very  richly  frescoed. 

Near  by  is  the  Westminster  Bridge,  from  which  we 
took  one  of  the  little,  ding}-  steamers  and  rode  up  to 
the  Kew  Royal  Botanical  Gardens,  containing  plants 
and  flowers  of  all  countries.  After  spending  some 
time  in  looking  through  this  beautiful  garden  we  rode 
on  the  top  of  a  tram  car  to  the  old  historic  town  of 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      295 

Richmond,  which  was  only  a  short  distance  from  the 
Kew  Gardens.  Eward  I  built  a  palace  here,  and  here 
Queen  EHzabeth  died.  White  Lodge  is  finely  located 
here,  where  the  present  King  Edward  formerly  re- 
sided. 

Just  a  few  days  previous  to  my  visit  to  Rich- 
mond in  1894  the  wee  Prince  made  his  appearance  at 
White  Lodge  and  gladdened  the  heart  of  the  Duke  of 
York  and  his  good  wife.  I  remembered  how  the 
daily  papers  heralded  all  abroad  the  advent  of  this  little 
bundle  of  royalty  who  is  in  a  direct  line  to  the  throne. 

Westminster  Abbey  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
places  that  tourists  have  on  their  list.  It  was  founded 
(on  the  site  of  a  temple  to  Apollo)  by  the  Saxon  King, 
Sebert,  in  616  for  Benedictines.  It  was  destroyed  by 
the  Danes  and  rebuilt  by  Edgar  in  985  and  Edward 
the  Confessor  in  1049.  Henrv'  VIII  drove  out  the 
monks  and  Queen  Mary  restored  them.  Queen  Eliz- 
abeth again  scattered  them.  All  the  sovereigns  since 
Harold  have  been  cro^^^led  here. 

The  chair  in  which  William  and  ^lary  were^ crowned 
is  still  in  the  old  Abbey.  Near  it  is  the  very  ancient 
looking  chair  m.ade  for  Edward  I  to  enclose  the  fam- 
ous stone  of  Scone.  Tradition  identifies  this  stone 
with  the  one  that  Jacob  rested  his  head  on  at  Bethel. 
Jacob's  sons  carried  it  to  EgA-pt.  From  there  it 
passed  into  Spain  with  King  Gathelus,  son  of  Cecrops, 
the  builder  of  Athens.  It  was  carried  by  Simon 
Brech,  the  Spanish  king's  son,  to  Ireland  when  he  in- 
vaded that  countr}'.  There  it  was  placed  on  the  sa- 
cred Hill  of  Tara  and  called  the  ''Stone  of  Destiny." 
When  the  Irish  kings  sat  on  it  at  the  coronations,  it 
groaned  aloud  if  the  claimant  was  of  royal  race,  and 


296      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

remained  quiet  if  he  was  a  pretender.  It  was  received 
into  Scotland  by  Fergus,  the  founder  of  the  Scottish 
monarchy,  and  one  of  the  blood  royal  of  Ireland.  In 
850  A.  D.,  King  Kenneth  deposited  it  in  the  monas- 
tery at  Scone.  It  was  for  centuries  an  object  of  ven- 
eration by  the  Scotch  who  fancied  while  it  remained 
in  their  country  their  state  would  be  unshaken. 
When  Edward  I  invaded  Scotland  he  seized  the  stone 
and  carried  it  to  England  and  placed  it  in  Westminster 
Abbey  in  the  year  1297.  On  this  chair  and  stone  all 
the  sovereigns  have  since  been  crowned.  This  chair 
is  covered  with  a  cloth  of  gold  during  the  coronation. 
I  was  inclined  to  be  a  wee  bit  skeptical  about  many 
things  said  of  this  old  stone.  Nevertheless,  it  has  a 
wonderful  history,  even  though  there  is  considerable 
doubt  about  Jacob,  the  patriarch,  resting  his  weary 
head  on  it  at  Bethel  that  eventful  night  that  he  was 
fleeing  from  his  old  home  after  deceiving  his  old  father 
and  robbing  Esau  of  his  blessing. 

Westminster  Abbey  is  513x75  feet  in  area,  and  102 
feet  high.  The  towers  are  225  feet  high.  As  one 
steps  into  this  old  edifice  he  finds  it  crowded  with 
monuments  of  kings,  heroes  and  scholars.  The 
chapel  of  Henry  VII,  built  in  1502,  has  nave,  aisles  and 
five  chapels  and  1,000  statues.  Here  are  seen  the 
tombs  of  Henry  VII,  James  I,  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
Charles  II,  WilHam  and  Mary,  George  of  Denmark, 
Queen  Ann,  Dean  Stanley  and  Queen  Elizabeth. 
The  chapel  of  St.  Edward  the  Confessor  has  tombs  of 
Henry  V,  Henry  III,  Queen  Eleanor,  Richard  II,  Ed- 
ward the  Confessor  and  Edward  I.  The  latter  died 
July  7,  1307.  This  account  of  him  was  on  the  tomb : 
"500  years  after  his  burial,  the  tomb  was  opened  and 


L  Jiii'hiiiiSwPl!  I  . 


CORONATION    CHAIR. 


298      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

his  body  found  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  having 
been  embalmed.  He  was  6  feet,  2  inches.  They, 
styled  him  'Long  Shanks.'  " 

I  thought  as  I  looked  at  those  old  tombs  containing 
the  dust  of  royalty,  that  old  death  could  chill  royal 
blood  as  quickly  as  the  so-called  common  kind. 
While  I  believe  in  honoring  those  in  authority,  yet  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  the  same  blood  that  coursed 
through  old  Father  Adam  and  Mother  Eve  is  circulat- 
ing through  the  veins  of  the  whole  human  family,  and 
that  we  are  all  made  from  the  same  piece  of  cloth,  even 
though  some  may  be  cut  more  on  the  bias  than  others. 

We  attended  service  in  this  old  edifice  one  Sunday 
evening.  It  was  a  very  simple  and  impressive  one. 
The  sermon  was  interesting  and  packed  with  gospel 
truths.  The  large  congregation  joined  heartily  in  the 
singing,  especially  so  when  they  sang  that  beautiful 
hymn  written  by  Cardinal  Newman,  ''Lead  Kindly 
Light." 

Old  St.  Margret's  Church  stands  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Westminster  Abbey.  It  was  built  on  the  site 
of  a  church  built  by  Edward  the  Confessor  in  1064. 
The  windows  of  this  church  are  magnificent,  espec- 
ially the  one  representing  the  crucifixion.  Milton's 
wife  and  Cromwell's  mother  are  buried  in  this  old 
church  and  the  dust  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Hes  under 
the  altar.     This  structure  shows  the  mark  of  time. 

Pall  Mall  is  a  splendid  street,  nearly  a  half  mile  in 
length,  running  west  from  Trafalgar  Square,  on  either 
side  of  which  are  many  magnificent  club  houses.  The 
Marlborough  House  is  on  Pall  Mall.  It  was  built  by 
Christopher  Wren,  the  great  builder  of  nearly  three 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      299 

centuries  ago.  It  was  one  of  the  residences  of  the 
present  king,  Edward. 

Near  by  is  St.  James'  Palace,  a  brick  building  built 
by  Henry  VIII.  It  was  the  home  of  England's  kings 
from  1 69 1  to  1809.  Queen  Victoria  was  married  in 
the  chapel.  I  was  very  much  interested  in  witnessing 
the  guard  mounting  and  listened  with  rapt  attention 
at  the  music  rendered  by  the  excellent  military  band. 

The  Buckingham  Palace  is  at  the  west  end  of  the 
St.  James'  Park.  This  was  the  city  residence  of  the 
late  Queen  Victoria.  In  the  rear  of  this  palace  are 
large  gardens,  handsomely  laid  out.  I  sent  one  of  my 
books  written  on  my  former  trip  through  the  British 
Isles  to  Her  Majesty  and  received  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  it  from  her  through  her  private  secretary, 
dated  from  Buckingham  Palace. 

Regent  Park,  with  its  420  acres,  is  a  densely  popu- 
lated district.  In  the  grounds  are  the  Zoological 
Gardens.  I  visited  the  Gardens  one  day  with  some 
friends  who  seemed  bent  on  trying  to  see  London  in 
one  day.  They  kept  me  on  the  move  so  that  I  did  not 
see  the  Gardens  as  thoroughly  as  I  desired.  They 
did,  however,  give  me  a  little  more  time  at  the  monkey 
cage  than  elsewhere,  the  reason  being  they  were  more 
interested  in  those  animals  than  the  others.  I  scarcely 
think  they  believed  sufficiently  in  the  Darwinian 
theory  to  have  been  looking  up  their  ancestry. 

Hyde  Park  is  another  beautiful  plot  covering  about 
300  acres.  It  was  laid  out  by  Henry  VIII.  At  the 
north  entrance  is  a  beautiful  marble  arch  and  at  the 
southeast  entrance  Hyde  Park  corner,  is  another.  At 
this  entrance  one  can  see  many  splendid  teams  and 
vehicles  of  various  kinds  coming  in  with  people  from 


15  ^^ce^^^i^f  ^&fy 


ZC4^^^&^ 


JPrW^  $ur$e  @f  f  ire. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      301 

the  many  large  and  magnificent  homes  in  London. 
Rotten  Row  is  near  by  and,  although  the  name  would 
suggest  to  one  a  row  of  dilapidated  buildings,  yet 
this  is  one  of  the  most  fashionable  parts  of  the  city. 
Many  of  the  residents  of  this  section  represent  high 
life  in  London.  In  passing  one  of  the  large  Opera 
Houses  one  night,  just  as  it  was  closing,  I  saw  the 
elite  coming  out  in  great  numbers,  many  of  them  at- 
tired in  gorgeous  style.  Some  of  them  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  the  belles  of  society  a  score 
of  years  ago.  They  had  managed,  by  considerable 
artificial  fixing,  to  present  a  fairly  youthful  appearance 
in  the  glare  of  the  electric  Hghts.  I  noticed  a  man  and 
woman  whose  faces  indicated  they  had  been  in  the 
old  w^orld  long  enough  to  be  getting  ready  to  cele- 
brate their  golden  wedding,  but  who  were  attired  in 
garments  suitable  for  a  couple  just  beginning  life. 
However,  I  presume  it  is  considered  out  of  the  line  of 
a  member  of  the  order  of  Bachelors  to  be  so  observ- 
ing. 

The  Victoria  Embankment  runs  along  the  north 
bank  of  the  Thames  from  the  Black  Friars  to  the 
Westminster  Bridge,  a  distance  of  a  mile.  There  are 
several  beautiful  little  gardens  along  this  walk  and 
driveway.  Cleopatra's  Needle,  the  great  Egyptian 
obelisk,  stands  along  the  embankment.  In  company 
with  a  friend,  I  took  a  stroll  along  the  embankment 
one  evening  and  stopped  at  one  of  the  gardens  and 
listened  to  some  English  airs  by  the  band  employed  by 
the  city. 

"Were  you  ever  in  a  London  fog?"  I  have  fre- 
quently been  asked. 

"Well,  yes,  and  will  not  soon  forget  it,"  is  my  an- 


302      A  YANKEE  BACHELO-R  ABROAD. 

swer.  One  day  while  looking  through  old  Bunhill 
Field's  Cemetery,  on  City  Road,  a  dense  fog  suddenly 
settled  down  on  the  city,  making  it  necessary,  I 
thought,  for  one  to  have  a  chart  and  compass  in  order 
to  get  his  bearings.  It  was  of  a  yellowish  cast  and  so 
dense  that  it  almost  seemed  to  shut  out  the  light  of 
day.  I  made  my  way  over  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street  to  the  City  Road  Wesleyan  Chapel  to  spend  the 
time  until  the  fog  Hfted.  In  looking  through  this,  the 
first  Methodist  Church  ever  built,  the  fog  seemed  to 
fill  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  chapel.  I  soon 
found  my  breathing  apparatus  rather  the  worse  for 
having  to  tussle  with  such  an  atmosphere. 

'This  is  a  feargul  fog,"  I  said  to  an  old  Londoner 
in  the  chapel. 

"Eh,  my  word,"  he  replied,  "but  this  is  light  to  some 
we  'ave,"  and  added :  "Sometimes  it  is  so  thick  that  all 
traffic  has  to  stop,  and  I  'ave  known  people  who  'ave 
not  been  able  to  find  their  way  'ome." 

I  was  quite  content  to  have  simply  a  light  fog  after 
his  description  of  a  heavy  one. 

I  spent  some  time  in  looking  about  this  chapel,  a 
place  that  is  full  of  interest  to  every  Methodist.  It 
has  been  greatly  improved  the  past  few  years.  The 
magnificent  marble  columns  were  presented  by  the 
Methodist  bodies  of  different  countries.  There  were 
tables  in  memory  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley  and 
Dr.  Adam  Clark,  Fletcher,  Dr.  Coke  and  many  other 
prominent  men  of  Methodism.  The  service  is  ver}^ 
ritualistic  and  I  was  informed  it  always  had  been  so. 
I  climbed  the  winding  stairway  of  the  pulpit  and  stood 
where  John  Wesley  so  often  expounded  the  Word, 
and  also  saw  the  communion  rail  where  he  officiated. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       303 

This  old  edifice  stands  some  distance  back  from  the 
street,  in  the  front  and  rear  of  which  are  the  tombs 
of  many  of  the  early  Methodists.     John  Wesley's  and 
Dr.  Adam  Clark's  tombs  are  in  the  rear.     On  either 
side  of  the  chapel  on  the  Hne  of  the  street  are  two 
large  dwellings.     One  is  the  manse  and  the  other  is 
John  Wesley's  old  home.     The  latter  is  open  to  visi- 
tors.    I  rang  the  beU  and  was  admitted  by  the  lady 
attendant,  who  showed  me  through  this  house,  which 
from  my  boyhood  I  desired  to  see.     On  the  second 
floor  were  a  number  of  relics  that  belonged  to  the 
Wesley's,  among  them  being  his  mother's  needle  case 
and  his  last  hymn  book,  candlesticks  and  his  study 
chair.      There  was   also  an   old  pewter  candlestick 
which  has  quite  a  history.     One  time  he  was  attacked 
by  brigands  and  had  this  candlestick   with   him   and 
pointed  it  at  the  highwaymen.     They,  thinking  it  was 
a  pistol,  fled  and  his  valuables  v/ere  saved  and  in  all 
probability  his  life.     There  was  a  large  white  china 
tea  pot  bearing  this  inscription : 

"Be  present  at  our  table,  Lord, 
Be  here  and  everywhere  adored; 
These  creatures  bless  and  grant  that  we 
M<ay  feast  in  Paradise  with  Thee." 

This  old  relic  was  used  at  his  tea  meetings  at  the 
chapel.  In  many  of  the  chapels  the  different  denom- 
inations have  t^a  and  light  refreshments  for  the  Chris- 
tian workers  who  do  not  wish  to  go  home  until  after 
the  evening  service,  and  especially  those  living  some 
distance.  Several  times  when  assisting  the  workers, 
I  have  remained  and  taken  tea  with  them  and  quite 
enjoyed  the  company  of  those  warm-hearted,  earnest 


304      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Christians.  When  I  entered  the  room  where  this 
good  man  closed  his  useful  life,  the  picture  of  his  death 
bed  scene  which  hangs  on  the  walls  of  so  many  homes 
and  on  which  I  looked  with  so  much  interest  when  a 
boy,  came  vividly  before  me.  I  fancied  I  could  see 
the  group  of  weeping  friends  standing  around  his  bed 
and  he,  with  clasped  hands  looking  into  their  faces, 
and  could  hear  him  say:  'The  best  of  all  is,  God  is 
with  us."  In  the  little  room  in  the  rear  is  where  he 
resorted  for  prayer.  In  the  corner  of  the  room  whe:-e 
he  died  was  his  bookcase  containing  a  portion  of  his 
library,  and  an  eight-day  clock  which  was  still  telling 
the  time. 

Upon  coming  out  of  the  house  I  found  the  fog  had 
lifted,  so  I  returned  to  the  Bunhill  Field.  As  I  was 
entering  the  gate  I  met  a  colored  man  and  woman 
who  seemed  to  be  attracting  the  attention  of  many  of 
the  passers-by. 

"Excuse  me,  sir,"  I  said  to  him;  ''are  you  from 
America?" 

"We  are,"  he  replied;  "and  so  are  you.  Your 
name  is  Butler,  is  it  not?" 

"That  is  the  name  I  am  proud  to  own,  sir,"  I  said. 

"I  told  my  wife  when  I  saw  you  coming  that  I  knew 
you." 

"I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  meeting  you  before." 

"Why,  sir,  you  sang  a  piece,  entitled  'Old  Jordan's 
Waves,'  at  our  church  at  Asbury  Park,  N.  J.,  when  I 
was  stationed  there." 

I  finally  remembered  the  man  and  the  circumstance. 

"How  long  have  you  been  on  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic?" I  inquired. 

"Several  months,"  he  answered,  and  added :  "We 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       305 

are  on  our  way  to  South  Africa  to  engage  in  mission 
work,  but  the  w^ar  broke  out  and  we  have  been  de- 
tained here  in  London,  but  I  think  we  will  soon  leave 
for  that  far-ofT  land." 

I  presume  now  they  are  there,  pointing  out  the 
homeward  path  to  those  benighted  people. 

In  my  wanderings  through  the  cemetery  I  came  to 
the  tomb  of  the  illustrious  John  Bunyan.  The  mon- 
umicnt  erected  to  his  memory  was  a  large  granite 
block,  on  the  top  of  which  was  a  recumbent  figure  of 
this  good  man.  The  grave  of  Daniel  De  Foe,  the 
author  of  ''Robinson  Crusoe,"  is  not  far  away.  Sus- 
anna Wesley,  the  mother  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley, 
and  Dr.  Isaac  Watts  are  buried  here.  I  copied  some 
very  quaint  epitaphs  in  this  cemetery,  some  of  which 
will  be  found  on  the  page  of  epitaphs.  An  English- 
man sitting  beside  mt  in  an  omnibus  said  to  me,  as 
some  Americans  were  leaving  the  'bus:  ''London  is 
full  of  Yakees." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "there  are  hundreds  of  them  here." 

"I  can  always  tell  a  Yankee,  especiahy  the  women," 
he  said,  "for  they  usually  have  a  bundle  of  guide  books 
and  carry  a  little  leather  bag  at  their  side,"  and  added: 
"They  are  great  women.  They  seem  so  independent. 
They  don't  mind  going  about  without  an  escort." 

"Weh,  this  is  characteristic  of  them,"  I  rephed. 
"One  reason,"  I  said,  "why  there  are  so  many  Ameri- 
cans here  this  summer  is  on  account  of  the  world's 
convention  of  the  society  of  Christian  Endeavor." 

"Oh,  that  is  something  I  know  Httle  about,"  he  re- 
pHed  in  a  way  that  led  me  to  think  he  was  not  inter- 
ested in  their  line  of  work.  I  think  the  Englishman 
left  the  'bus  without  the  least  suspicion  I  was  an  Amer- 


20 


3o6      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

ican.  The  year  or  more  spent  on  the  British  Isles  I 
presume  I  lost  some  of  the  Yankee  twang  and  the 
"guessing  and  calculating,"  as  they  style  it. 

The  world's  convention  of  the  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor  was  to  have  been  held  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
but  through  some  misunderstanding  the  committee 
failed  to  get  it,  and  at  a  very  late  date  secured  the 
Alexander  Palace.  It  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  park 
of  300  acres,  overlooking  the  city.  There  is  also  an 
artificial  lake  covering  about  five  acres,  which  adds 
greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  park.  The  buildings  are 
quite  large,  especially  the  Central  Hall.  Meeting  one 
of  the  Irish  delegates  from  Belfast,  he  requested  me  to 
meet  him  and  a  number  of  other  delegates  that  eve- 
ning at  the  Irish  headquarters  at  the  palace.  In  com- 
pany with  a  friend,  I  took  one  of  the  many  crowded 
suburban  trains  and  rode  out  to  the  park.  On  en- 
tering the  main  hall  we  found  it  finely  decorated  with 
flags  and  mottoes  of  various  kinds.  There  was  a  small 
audience  gathered  near  the  stage,  listening  to  a 
young  lady  render  a  solo.  We  thought,  of  course, 
it  was  a  Christian  Endeavorer  and  that  it  was  a  prepar- 
atory meeting.  At  the  base  of  the  stage  was  this 
motto  in  very  large  letters :  "Thy  Kingdom  Come." 
On  returning  from  the  Irish  headquarters  to  this  hall, 
we  were  led  to  quickly  change  our  minds  in  reference 
to  the  character  of  the  meeting.  The  young  woman 
did  not  prove  to  be  a  Christian  Endeavorer,  but  was 
endeavoring  to  demonstrate  to  the  little  audience 
how  near  the  ceiling  she  could  send  one  of  her  feet 
and  at  the  same  time  steady  herself  with  the  other. 
They  said  she  was  giving  the  skirt  dance,  but  I've  con- 
cluded that  whatever  the  performance  might  be,  it  was 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      307 

not  very  conducive  to  helping  on  the  kingdom  re- 
ferred to  on  the  motto  at  the  base  of  the  stage.  We 
soon  discovered  the  waiters  were  passing  out  an  arti- 
cle to  the  thirsty  customers  that  would  not  be  ap- 
proved of  by  the  White  Ribbon  sisters. 

"You  should  have  known  what  kind  of  a  place  you 
were  taking  me  to,"  said  my  friend  to  me. 

I  took  his  reproof  meekly  and  hurried  away  with 
him  to  the  city.  The  convention  did  not  commence 
until  Saturday  morning,  July  14th,  and  the  company 
holding  forth  at  the  palace  were  not  supposed  to  va- 
cate until  after  their  performance  on  the  previous  eve- 
ning. 

The  convention  commenced  in  the  Central  Hall 
with  an  organ  recital  by  A.  J.  Hawkins,  of  the  City 
Temple,  of  which  Dr.  Parker  is  pastor,  after  which 
the  welcome  meeting  was  held,  presided  over  by  Rev. 
J.  D.  Lamont,  chairman  of  the  National  British  Coun- 
cil, Rev.  W.  McNight  giving  the  address  of  welcome. 
The  responses  were  by  Mrs.  Dr.  Clark  and  J.  Willis 
Baer,  of  America ;  Canon  Richardson,  of  Canada,  and 
Catherine  Barbour,  of  Spain,  and  a  number  of  others 
from  different  countries. 

In  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  a  musical  service  was 
given,  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Carey  Bonnar.  The 
chairman  of  the  welcome  meeting  in  this  hall  was 
Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  president  of  the  British  National 
Union.  He  is  one  of  the  choice  spirits  of  this  age. 
I  heard  him  at  the  Belfast  Y.  M.  C.  A.  give  a  most 
excellent  discourse  on  'The  grain  of  mustard  seed." 
He  has  recently  been  in  America  on  a  brief  evangelis- 
tic tour.  The  address  was  by  J.  Brown  Morgan. 
The  responses  by  Rev.  F.  E.  Clark,  D.D.,  Rev.  W. 


3o8      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

Patterson,  of  Canada,  Rev.  Bleeker,  of  Germany,  and 
Rev.  Carlos  Arango,  of  Spain. 

On  Sunday  morning  we  helped  swell  the  immense 
crowd  that  filled  the  City  Temple  and  listened  to  a 
very  able  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Parker.  One  of 
the  many  things  he  said  that  impressed  me  was  this : 
'Tf  we  take  our  little  cross  and  place  it  beside  the 
great  tree  of  Calvary,  it  is  as  nothing  compared  to  it." 
This  eminent  divine  held  the  attention  of  that  large 
congregation  for  over  an  hour.  He  has  a  preaching 
service  in  the  Temple  every  Thursday  morning,  and 
the  congregation  is  usually  very  large.  Among  those 
who  took  part  in  the  meetings  the  following  week  at 
the  Palace  were :  Rev.  John  Edgar,  of  Glasgow ;  Rev. 
Charles  Jordan,  of  Calcutta;  Rev.  Charles  Bright,  of 
Australia;  Rev.  W.  H.  Stapleton,  of  Yakusa,  Upper 
Congo;  J.  J.  White,  of  China;  Rev.  Silas  Mead,  L.L. 
B.,  of  Harley  College,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Montgom- 
ery, of  Belfast,  a  man  whose  influence  for  good  is  far- 
reaching  ;  Rev.  Alex.  Walters,  of  Jersey,  N.  Y. ;  Rev. 
W.  L.  Watkinson,  President  of  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
ference, and  the  Rev.  John  McNeill,  the  Scotch  evan- 
gelist, who  conducted  the  evangelistic  service. 

"My  mother  and  father,"  he  said,  "were  Christian 
Endeavorers  back  in  their  day.  When  they  were  first 
married  they  established  the  family  altar  and  as  they 
gathered  about  it  joined  in  singing  and  each  took  their 
turns  praying.  Neither  of  them  could  scarcely  sing 
a  note,  but  endeavored  to  sing  the  best  they  could 
until  God  sent  them  along  six  Httle  singers.  I  am  one 
of  them  and  if  you  should  want  to  clear  this  hall  you 
would  only  have  to  call  on  me  to  sing  a  solo." 

I  also  heard  him  at  a  meeting  at  Belfast  the  winter 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.       309 

previous  and  was  amused  as  well  as  greatly  helped  by 
his  quaint  remarks.  Lady  Somerset  was  on  the  pro- 
gram for  an  address,  but  could  not  be  present,  which 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  people,  especially 
to  the  Amicrican  delegates,  many  of  whom  wxre  anx- 
ious to  hear  this  excellent  woman.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  listening  to  Rev.  Canon  Barker,  chaplain  to  the 
late  Queen  Victoria.  '  I  also  listened  to  Rev.  Frances 
E.  Clark,  D.D.,  of  Portland,  Maine,  founder  of  the 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor.  In  the  summer  of 
1898  I  visited  his  church  in  Portland,  Me.,  and  was  in 
the  Httle  room  where  he  organized  this  society,  little 
thinking,  I  presume,  that  it  would  widen  and  spread 
until  it  would  belt  the  entire  globe  and  in  a  few  years 
after  that  little  meeting  that  men  and  women  would 
gather  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  mingle  their 
voices  in  songs  of  praise  and  prayer  to  Him  whose 
grace  is  free  to  all  mankind.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Parker 
also  took  part  in  some  of  the  meetings  and  Rev.  Robt. 
Veitch,  of  Liverpool;  Rev.  O.  Davies,  of  Rochdale, 
Eng. ;  Rev.  Hanley  Moule,  D.D.,  of  Cambridge;  Rev. 
S.  M.  Campbell,  of  Chicago,  and  the  Rev.  Floyd 
Tompkins,  one  of  Philadelphia's  able  and  earnest 
Episcopal  clergymen,  who,  by  his  plain,  practical  gos- 
pel sermons  and  simple  methods,  is  doing  a  vast 
amount  of  good. 

At  one  of  the  workers'  meetings  I  listened  to  a  very 
helpful  talk  by  the  Rev.  Charles  M.  Sheldon,  author  of 
"In  His  Steps."  The  cantata,  entitled  "Comrades," 
given  in  the  Great  Central  Hall,  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Carey  Bonnar,  w^as  hstened  to  by  a  large  and 
appreciative  audience.  It  was  rendered  by  a  large 
adult  choir,  assisted  by  .  1,000    Junior    Endeavorers, 


310      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

and  100  choristers  from  Dr.  Spurgeon's  Stockwell 
Orphanage  and  loo  boys  from  Dr.  Barnado's  Home. 
The  remarks  by  the  Bishop  of  London  at  one  of  the 
meetings  were  excellent  and  to  the  point.  Rev. 
Hugh  Price  Hughes  was  also  on  the  program.  He  is 
engaged  with  Rev.  Mark  Guy  Pearce  in  a  mission 
held  in  St.  James'  Hall  at  Piccadilley.  I  attended 
their  services  on  my  previous  visit  to  London  and  also 
was  at  the  service  the  last  Sunday  evening  I  spent  in 
the  great  city. 

In  the  Palace  Park  grounds  were  a  number  of  small 
tents  in  which  many  of  the  male  delegates  were  quar- 
tered. There  were  also  several  large  tents  in  which 
services  were  held.  I  attended  one  of  the  closing  ser- 
vices held  in  one  of  these  tents.  At  the  roll  call,  when 
the  different  countries  were  called,  the  delegates  rep- 
resenting them  arose  and  sang  a  hymn.  The  Irish 
delegates  sang  ^'Ireland  for  Christ."  The  Germans 
responded  heartily  with  a  hymn  that  few  understood, 
but  we  enjoyed  the  melody.  The  English  sang  that 
beautiful  old  hymn  written  by  Dr.  Isaac  Watts : 

"When    I   survey  the  wondrous  cross 
On  w'hich  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 

'My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride." 

The  American  delegates  joined  in  singing,  ^'There 
is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood."  I  met  a  very  inter- 
esting young  man  who  was  a  delegate  from  Cairo, 
Egypt.  He  had  been  in  that  far~of¥  country  as  a  mis- 
sionary. His  home  was  in  the  town  of  F,  New  York 
state.  He  was  enroute  for  America  for  a  short  visit 
and  then  expected  to  return  again  to  his  field  of  labor. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      311 

*'What  are  you  doing  here?"  said  a  man  to  me  as  he 
touched  me  on  the  shoulder.  To  my  surprise  it  was 
Rev.  R.  R.  P — ,  whom  I  had  known  from  my  boy- 
hood.    In  reply  to  his  question  I  said : 

'T  have  been  on  this  side  of  old  ocean  so  long  that 
I  feel  as  though  I  have  almost  become  part  and  parcel 
of  the  Queen's  subjects."  However,  I  was  greatly 
pleased  to  hail  him  and  many  others  from  my  native 
land,  and  especially  one  of  my  friends  from  Lewiston, 
Me.,  who,  with  a  number  of  others  from  the  old  Pine 
Tree  State,  were  delegates  to  this  great  convention. 

THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM. 

This  interesting  place  was  only  a  few  minutes'  walk 
from  my  lodgings  and  I  went  so  often  that  many 
times  on  leaving  the  house  some  one  would  ask :  ''Go- 
ing to  the  British  Museum  to-day?" 

Sometimes  my  answer  would  be :  ''Well,  not  to-day; 
I  have  another  place  on  my  program,"  but  before  the 
day  closed  I  would  find  my  way  there  and  wander 
about  looking  at  the  many  old  relics  of  centuries  ago. 
It  contains  one  of  the  grandest  collections  in  the 
world.  There  are  Elgin  marbles  from  Athenia  and 
Parthenon  and  hundreds  of  Greek  and  Roman  sculp- 
tures and  statuary  and  Reliefs  from  Babylon,  Ninevah 
and  Nimrod.  There  are  six  rooms  full  of  Egyptian 
antiquities  of  the  Flint,  Celtic,  Roman  and  Saxon  and 
Mediaeval  ages  in  England,  and  also  vast  collection 
in  zoology.  The  library  contains  over  10,000  vol- 
umes. In  the  Roman  and  Greek  departments  there 
were  many  things  in  which  I  became  intensely  inter- 
ested, among  them  being  some  stones  from  the  great 


312      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

theatre  of  Ephesus  inscribed  with  ''Bequest  C  Vibius 
Salutarus,  A.  D.  104."  Also  wall  stones  from  the 
Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  inscribed  with  grants  of 
citizenship  and  other  honors  to  benefactors  of  Ephe- 
sus. There  was  a  Greek  inscription  from  Thessalo- 
nica  containing  names  of  certain  Politarchs,  an  un- 
common title  accurately  quoted  by  St.  Luke,  Acts  17 : 
6-8.  I  was  unable  to  read  the  various  inscriptions,  yet 
was  interested  in  them  because  of  their  wonderful  his- 
tory. 

Among  the  busts  was  one  of  Homer,  Julius  Caesar 
and  Nero ;  also  a  statue  of  Apollo  as  a  player  on  the 
lyre  from  Cyrene.  There  were  many  sarcophagii,  on 
the  lids  of  which  were  painted  many  curious  designs. 
There  were  slabs  from  Athens  with  various  designs, 
some  of  them  representing  deities.  There  were  a 
large  number  of  Egyptian  relics,  covering  a  period 
from  B.  C.  3,600  to  A.  D.  350,  among  them  being  a 
cast  of  Rameses  II,  who  was  king  of  Egypt  B.  C.  i  ;^^^. 
There  was  also  a  cast  of  the  statue  of  Kephren,  who 
was  king  of  Egypt  B.  C.  3666.  There  were  mum- 
mies of  many  of  the  prominent  men  and  women  of 
Egypt  who  lived  hundreds  of  years  before  the  birth 
of  Christ.  In  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  depart- 
ment were  stamped  bricks  with  different  inscriptions 
found  in  the  palaces  and  other  buildings  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyrian  kings,  beginning  with  Dungi,  king  of 
Babylon,  B.  C.  2500;  old  gate  sockets  and  boundary 
stones  were  among  the  rehcs,  B.  C.  4500.  There 
were  hard  stone  cylinders  with  inscriptions.  One  of 
them  was  marked  with  the  translation  which  read  as 
follows:  "I  am  Darius,  the  great  king."  I  thought 
as  I  read  it  that  men  far  back  in  the  days  of  Darius  had 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      313 

imaginary  large  heads.  A  cylinder  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar II,  king  of  Babylon  with  an  account  of  building 
walls  and  temple,  B.  C.  604.  Also  five  cyHnders  in- 
scribed with  a  summary  of  the  w^ars  of  the  early  years 
of  the  reign  of  Sennacherib,  B.  C.  681-705.  One  also 
with  the  account  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  Jerusalem 
and  defeat  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judea.  One  in- 
scribed with  the  annals  of  Esarhaddon,  B.  C.  668-681, 
and  recording  the  submission  of  Manasseh,  king  of 
Judea.  There  were  a  number  of  glass  bowls  and  vases 
and  various  articles  from  Nimrod;  the  most  import- 
ant was  a  small  glass  vase  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
Sargon,  705-722  B.  C.  There  was  a  cylinder  of  Cyrus 
giving  an  account  of  the  capture  of  Babylon,  B.  C. 

539- 

Among  the  very  interesting  relics  I  saw  was  a  Ro- 
man slave  badge.  These  were  hung  around  the  neck 
of  the  slave  with  a  brass  ring  with  an  inscription  as 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  slave  if  he  ran  away. 
This  read  as  follows : 

''Keep  me  and  do  not  let  me  run  away,  and  bring 
me  back  to  my  master,  Vivintus,  on  the  estate  of  Cal- 
litus." 

Among  the  clay  tables  w^as  one  said  to  have  been  an 
inscription  of  Tiglath-Pilsur  III,  king  of  Assyria, 
727-745  B.  C,  recording  his  conquest  and  building 
operations  among  the  different  kings,  among  them 
being  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah.  Tiglath-Pilsur  was 
known  among  the  Hebrews  by  his  Bablyonian  name, 
"Pul,"  mentioned  in  2d  Kings  15:19.  The  cast  of 
the  inscription  of  the  pool  of  Siloam,  B.  C.  700,  I  re- 
garded with  great  interest.  The  inscription  was  cut 
out  of  the  conduit  which  filled  the  pool.     It  states  that 


314      A  YANKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD. 

when  the  excavations  began  to  work  at  the  ends  and 
met  in  the  centre  that  the  miners  when  separated  by 
a  distance  of  three  cubits  heard  each  other's  voices  and 
hewed  away  with  their  picks  until  the  water  flowed 
from  the  spring  to  the  pool. 

There  was  a  cast  of  the  Phenician  inscription  of  the 
Moabite  stone.  The  stone  was  about  three  feet  by  ten. 
The  monument  about  B.  C.  900.  It  gives  an  account 
of  the  war  of  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  against  Omri, 
Ahab,  and  other  kings  of  Israel,  reference  2  Kings, 
4:4;  2  Kings,  4:25.  There  were  also  fragments  of 
clay  tablets  inscribed  with  a  part  of  the  Assyrian  ac- 
count of  the  creation.  This  was  from  the  library  of 
Assur-Ban-Pal,  king  of  Assyria,  B.  C.  668-626  at  Nin- 
eveh. 

I  spent  considerable  time  in  the  manuscript  room, 
in  which  were  specimens  of  ancient  and  illuminated 
manuscripts  and  autographs,  letters  and  literary  works 
and  charters  and  "seals.  There  was  a  complete  set  of 
seventy-two  impressions  of  the  seals  from  Edward  the 
Confessor  to  Queen  Victoria.  Also  the  photo  of  the 
Magna  Charter  by  King  John,  dated  at  Runnymead, 
June  15,  121 5,  A.  D.,  also  an  original  Bull  of  Pope 
Leo  X,  conferring  on  Henry  VIII  the  title  of  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,  dated  at  Rome  October  11,  1521, 
and  signed  by  the  Pope  and  many  of  the  cardinals.  It 
was  damaged  by  fire  in  173 1.  A  double  roll  contain- 
ing the  Pentatuch  in  Hebrew,  written  on  goat  skin. 
In  one  of  the  glass  cases  there  was  a  great  number  of 
autographs  of  the  kings  and  queens  and  prominent 
men  of  the  past  ages.  There  was  a  notice  for  the  ed- 
ucation of  Henry  VI  in  1432,  also  a  letter  from  Ed- 
ward VI  and  his  Council  confirming  the  use  of  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      3^5 

common  prayer  book  in  1549.  Letters  from  Lady 
Jane  Gray,  1553,  proclamation  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
papers  relating  to  the  trial  and  execution  of  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots.  Also  the  manuscript  of  George 
Fox,  the  Quaker,  on  Old  Testament  texts ;  the  auto- 
biography of  Richard  Baxter,  the  non-conformist ;  the 
manuscript  of  Whitfield  on  the  separation  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church  from  the  Church  of  England ;  an  original 
copy  of  Thomas  Grey's  Elegy  (1750)  of  "The 
Country  Church-yard."  There  was  also  an  autograph 
letter  of  Martin  Luther  on  Cromwell's  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  Christ,  in  1536;  Thomas  Cranmer  on  the 
royal  permission  for  buying  and  reading  the  English 
Bible  in  England,  1537;  autographs  of  many  of  the 
EngHsh  sovereigns — Richard  II,  1397;  Henry  IV, 
1406;  Henry  V,  1419;  Henry  VI,  1437;  Edward  IV, 
1472;  Edward  V,  1483;  Henry  VII,  1500;  Henry 
VIII,  thanking  Cardinal  Woolsey  for  his  pubUc  la- 
bors; a  letter  from  Queen  Anne  Boleyn,  1530,  thank- 
ing Cardinal  Woolsey  for  bringing  about  her  mar- 
riage to  Henry  VIII.  She  did  not  fell  so  grateful  to 
the  Cardinal  after  she  had  lived  with  Henry  a  short 
time,  especially  so  when  she  stood  on  Tower  Green 
about  to  be  beheaded ;  Queen  Mary,  1554;  Queen 
Elizabeth,  1576;  James  I,  1623;  Charles  I,  1644; 
Charles  II,  1672;  James  II,  1685;  Queen  Mary  II, 
1690;  Queen  Anne,  1705;  George  I,  1717;  George 
II,  1759;  George  III,  1760;  George  IV,  1820.  Also 
the  autograph  of  Queen  Victoria,  penciled  when  she 
was  four  years  old,  in  1823.  There  were  also  many 
letters  from  statesmen  and  military  men  from  1530 
to  1884,  among  them  being  John  Bright  and  Glad- 
stone.    The  latter  was  born  1804;  died  1898.     There 


3i6      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

was  a  letter  from  Lord  Nelson,  written  two  days  be- 
fore the  great  battle  of  Tralfagar.  One  from  Queen 
Victoria  to  Miss  Gordon,  thanking  her  for  a  Bible  she 
presented  to  the  Queen  which  belonged  to  her  broth- 
er. General  Gordon.  The  following  is  a  letter  written 
by  Oliver  Cromwell  to  his  wife,  Elizabeth : 

"1  praise  the  Lord  I  am  increased  in  strength  in  my 
outward  man,  but  that  will  not  satisfy  me,  except  I 
get  a  heart  to  love  and  serve  my  Heavenly  Father  bet- 
ter and  get  more  of  this  light  of  His  countenance 
which  is  better  than  life,  and  more  power  over  my 
corruptions.  Mind  poor  Betty  of  the  Lord's  great 
mercy.  Oh,  I  desire  her  not  only  to  seek  the  Lord  in 
her  necessity  but  in  deed  and  in  truth  to  turn  to  the 
Lord  and  keep  close  to  Him." 

(Signed)  Oliver  Cromwell. 

Edinburgh,  April  12,  1651. 

There  were  many  cases  containing  a  great  number 
of  very  old  and  finely  bound  books,  among  them  in 
the  Greek  manuscript  being  the  Gospel  lessons  of  the 
tenth  century,  with  miniature  of  the  four  evangelists 
in  colors  on  gold  ground.  There  were  also  some  of 
the  earliest  specimens  of  music,  printed  in  different 
countries,  one  of  them  being  a  singing  book,  entitled 
"Pleasant  Companion,"  published  in  1688  by  John 
PI  ay  ford. 

In  the  gold  room  were  a  number  of  very  costly  rel- 
ics, among  them  being  a  papal  ring  belonging  to  Pope 
Pius  II,  1458,  A.  D.;  a  magnificent  snuff  box  pre- 
sented by  one  of  the  Popes  to  Napoleon  in  1797. 
There  was  a  watch  belonging  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  and 
a  snuff  box  presented  by  Napoleon  to  a  friend.  It 
was  set  with  twenty-eight  stones,  and  Queen  Eliza- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      317 

beth's  prayer  book  in  gold  case.  There  was  a  collec- 
tion of  gold  pins  and  napkin-rings  and  various 
other  beautiful  articles  that  dated  back  to  700  B.  C. 
There  was  also  a  gold  signet  ring  that  once  belonged 
to  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 

I  found  it  difBcult  to  tear  myself  away  from  the 
British  Museum  as  well  as  from  the  South  Kensing- 
ton, which  also  contains  many  interesting  relics. 


3i8  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

A  VISIT  TO  THE  SLUMS  OF  LONDON, 

0N  My  former  visit  to  London,  I  only  paid  a  very 
hurried  visit  to  its  slum  districts,  of  which  I 
have  heard  and  read  so  much ;  but  this  time  I 
visited  the  very  worst  parts  where  could  be  seen  hun- 
dreds of  human  wrecks.  It  differs,  however,  very  lit- 
tle from  the  slums  of  any  other  city,  only  that  in  this 
immense  city  it  covers  a  wider  scope.  One  Sabbath, 
after  attending  service  at  a  little  Baptist  Church  near 
where  I  lodged,  I  walked  to  the  Whitechapel  district. 
In  passing  along  Old  street,  from  which  run  a  number 
of  small  thoroughfares,  I  saw  a  motly  crowd  gathered 
around  a  house  in  one  of  the  streets.  The  young 
people  seemed  to  be  having  a  gala  time.  They  were 
showering  confetti  over  each  other  very  profusely. 

"What  is  the  cause  of  all  this  merriment?"  I  in- 
quired of  a  hard  looking  man,  holding  up  one  corner 
of  a  public  house. 

"Oh,  there's  to  be  a  weddin'  in, yon  'ouse,"  he  said. 

Presently  a  marine  came  along  and  turned  down 
this  street.  "That's  the  lad  that's  goin'  to  ibe  mar- 
ried," said  the  man. 

As  soon  as  the  crowd  saw  the  marine,  they  shouted, 
"Give  it  to  him!"  and  they  completely  covered  him 
with  this  fancy,  fine  cut  paper  which  i  they  were  using 
as  a  substitute  for  rice.  He  beat  a  hasty  retreat  into 
the  little  house,  after  which  the  crowd  amused  them- 
selves with  sprinkling  each  other  with  the  confetti. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      319 

The  public  house  on  the  corner  did  a  thriving  busi- 
ness, the  women  apparently  being  the  best  customers. 
They  entered  the  same  door  with  the  men.  They 
have  no  "ladies'  entrance"  at  the  public  houses.  The 
vast  majority  of  these  places  have  bar  maids,  many  of 
them  being  very  fine  looking  girls. 

In  the  little  while  I  stood  there  I  not  only  saw  the 
aged  cross  the  threshold  of  that  door,  but  young  men 
and  women  and  children.  All  through  the  British 
Isles  the  public  houses  are  open  at  certain  hours  on 
Sundays  and  in  the  evening  from  about  7  o'clock  until 
1 1 .  They  are  densely  crowded  with  both  sexes  and  of 
all  ages.  Men  take  their  wives  and  children  into 
these  places  and  stand  at  the  bar  and  pass  the  little 
tots  strong  drink.  While  standing  in  front  of  a  pub- 
lic house  I  saw  a  mother  giving  her  little  ones  drink. 
One  can  quite  understand  the  secret  of  the  drink  habit 
being  so  prevalent  in  the  British  Isles.  The  temper- 
ance element  framed  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  sale  of 
strong  drink  to  children,  but  I  understood  before  leav- 
ing England,  it  had  been  frozen  out  by  those  who  care 
more  for  the  filthy  lucre  than  for  the  salvation  of  the 
little  ones. 

A  Httle  farther  along  Old  street,  I  came  to  the  Old 
Street  Parrish  Church,  the  entrance  being  on  a  side 
street.  In  front  of  the  church  was  another  crowd. 
My  curiosity  led  me  to  turn  down  this  small  street  and 
learn  the  cause  of  the  gathering.  I  was  informed  by 
a  lad  of  whom  I  inquired  that  they  were  '  Vaitin'  for  a 
weddin'  party."  I  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  rather 
a  rough  looking  class  of  people.  One  old  woman 
had  her  Sunday  marketing  in  her  soiled  apron.     She 


320      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

gazed  intently  up  the  street  and  seemed  to  be  anxious 
for  the  appearance  of  the  'Sveddin'  party." 

''My  word,  it  must  be  near  time  they  were  comin'/' 
she  said  to  another  old  sister  near  by. 

''Eh,  'ere  it  comes  now,"  she  remarked,  as  this  same 
sailor  boy  turned  into  this  small  street,  followed  by  a 
number  of  young  people  who  were  decorating  him 
with  the  confetti.  He  passed  into  the  church  and  re- 
mained until  he  heard  the  rumbling  of  the  carriage 
wheels  which  was  bringing  the  bride  and  the  best  man. 
He  was  in  readiness  to  escort  her  into  the  church  as 
soon  as  she  alighted  from  the  vehicle.  They  passed 
in,  followed  by  many  of  the  crowd. 

"Are  you  goin'  to  stay  until  the  weddin'  party 
comes  hout?"  said  a  tall,  gaunt  woman,  accompanied 
by  a  young  man  and  woman,  to  this  old  sister  with  the 
marketing. 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  "I'm  goin'  to  see  it  'hover.'  " 

"She's  a  fool  to  be  marryin'  that  lad  and  be  goin' 
away  on  a  long  cruise  to-morrow,"  said  the  tall  wo- 
man. 

"Eh,  well  she'll  be  gettin'  his  money  and  that's  all 
she  be  wantin'." 

"Say,  we're  goin'  over  to  the  'pub'  for  a  drink,"  said 
the  tall  woman;  "wait  till  ^^e  come  back."  By  the 
look  the  old  woman  gave  the  trio,  it  would  not  have 
taken  a  very  pressing  invitation  for  her  to  have  joined 
them.  After  slaking  their  thirst  they  joined  this  "old 
body"  again  and  carried  on  a  very  amusing  conversa- 
tion. 

On  my  way  along  Old  street  I  came  to  another  old 
church,  surrounded  by  a  graveyard,  which  they  had 
utilized  for  a  square.     On  the  seats  among  the  old 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      321 

tombs  there  were  some  of  the  most  wretched  looking 
people  that  one  could  find.  There  were  old  men  and 
women,  badly  wrecked  and  just  ready  to  sink,  and 
also  the  middle  aged,  being  battered  about  on  the 
rocks  and  fast  going  to  pieces  and  the  young  who  had 
recently  stranded.  As  I  looked  at  that  sad  picture  I 
Wondered  what  could  be  done  to  save  the  oncoming 
tide  of  humanity  from  meeting  the  same  fate.  One 
woman  had  taken  advantage  of  a  hydrant  near  by 
and  had  her  washing  hanging  on  the  churchyard  fence. 
One  hard  looking  character  seemed  to  regard  me  as 
an  intruder  and  struck  a  fighting  attitude  as  I  was 
passing  her.  A  sharp  look  from  me  caused  her  to 
drop  back  a  few  feet.  It  occurred  to  me  I  had  better 
seek  more  congenial  company  and  passed  out  of  the 
yard,  followed  by  this  old,  modern  Jezebel,  who 
breathed  out  threatenings  against  me. 

A  short  distance  from  the  church  I  met  a  number 
of  women  who  had  utilized  their  aprons  and  tattered 
dresses  for  market  baskets.  I  was  curious  to  know 
where  they  were  coming  from  with  their  marketing, 
but  a  few  minutes'  walk  brought  me  to  what  is  known 
as  "Petticoat  Lane,"  and  one  would  think  it  properly 
named  as  he  saw  the  great  number  of  those  articles 
lying  on  the  sidewalk  for  sale.  It  is  a  narrow  street 
and  on  either  side  were  barrows  with  fruit  and  vege- 
tables, while  on  the  pavements  were  spread  out  a  mis- 
cellaneous line  of  goods.  There  was  second-handed 
clothing  in  abundance.  Some  of  it  had  the  appear- 
ance of  being  fourth-handed,  or  even  beyond  that. 
The  centre  of  the  street  was  densely  packed  with  men 
and  women,  most  of  whom  were  badly  frayed  out. 


21 


322  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  '    ~  " 

"Is  this  Petticoat  Lane?"  I  inquired  of  a  policeman 
who  stood  at  the  entrance  of  this  street. 

"This  is  what  is  called  Petticoat  Lane,  but  that  is 
not  the  proper  name,"  he  replied. 

"Well,"  I  said,  "I  have  often  heard  of  it,  but  the  half 
was  never  told.  I  never  witnessed  anything  like  this 
on  the  Sabbath." 

"It  is  a  disgrace  to  our  city  and  something  should 
be  done  to  make  these  people  observe  the  Sabbath," 
he  remarked. 

"Do  you  think  it  would  be  safe  to  go  through  to  the 
farther  end  of  the  street?"  I  inquired. 

"You  will  run  the  risk  of  losing  your  valuables. 
Very  often  people  are  robbed  going  through,"  he 
said.  I  concluded  not  to  take  the  risk,  and  was  con- 
tent to  see  the  sights  from  a  distance. 

A  young  man  from  one  of  the  rural  districts  in  Eng- 
land was  telling  me  that  he,  in  company  with  a  friend, 
was  going  through  Petticoat  Lane  one  day  and  seeing 
a  pair  of  trousers  hanging  at  one  of  the  shop  doors, 
marked  with  the  price  which  he  considered  cheap,  he 
said  to  the  proprietor :  "I'll  take  those." 

"Will  you  try  them  on?"  said  this  descendant  of 
Jacob. 

"No ;  they  are  the  size  I  require,"  he  replied. 

The  man  took  them  inside  and  in  a  few  minutes 
came  out  with  a  bundle  and  received  his  seven  shil- 
lings, and  the  lad  walked  away  with  his  supposed  bar- 
gain.    On  his  arrival  home,  he  said  to  his  folks : 

"I  have  saved  a  few  shillings  to-day  on  a  purchase  I 
made."  On  opening  the  bundle  to  his  great  surprise 
and  the  amusement  of  the  family,  he  found  a  pair  of 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      323 

boys^  knee  breeches  very  badly  worn.  This  verdant 
lad  had  been  ''salted"  down  in  fine  style  by  ''Solomon." 

In  further  conversation  with  the  policeman  he  in- 
formed me  there  was  another  section  a  short  distance 
away  equally  as  bad. 

"It  may  be  a  little  late  to  see  very  much  now,  as 
their  business  is  usually  over  by  this  time,"  he  said. 

"How  will  I  reach  there?"  I  inquired. 

"Go  straight  down  yon  street  and  take  the  third 
turning  on  the  left,"  he  repHed. 

In  following  his  direction  "the  third  turning  on  the 
left"  brought  me  into  one  of  the  worst  parts  of  White- 
chapel.  On  either  side  of  this  narrow  street  were  men 
and  women  that  his  Satanic  Majesty  had  battered 
and  bruised  until  there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  particle 
of  good  timber  left.  When  I  was  about  half-way 
through  this  street  I  began  to  be  very  much  concerned 
about  the  safety  of  Butler.  There  were  several  fel- 
lows who  looked  as  though  they  were  of  the  same 
stripe  as  some  of  whom  I  have  read  of  in  this  district. 
They  cast  some  very  threatening  glances  in  my  direc- 
tion, which  caused  me  to  think  they  had  some  idea 
of  com.ing  across  the  street  to  divest  me  of  my  Sunday 
raiment.  My  eyes  were  steadily  fixed  on  these  lads, 
and  at  the  same  time  I  kept  my  feet  moving  rapidly 
in  the  direction  of  two  policemen  standing  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  street. 

"This  is  a  very  rough  locality,"  I  remarked  to  one 
of  the  officers. 

"Eh,  but  you  are  in  the  worst  part  of  London,"  he 
said.  "All  about  here  are  low  lodging  houses  and 
the  occupants  are  the  very  lowest  type."     Then  he 


324      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

.^■ 
added :    ''We   never   think   of   going   through   here 

alone." 

"I  felt  rather  uncomfortable  as  I  came  through  that 
street/'  I  said. 

"Well  you  might,  for  if  you  had  not  been  a  big  fel- 
low and  have  kept  your  eye  on  them,  they  would  have 
given  you  trouble,"  he  replied.  There  were  two  men 
and  a  woman  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  that  I 
thought  would  soon  need  the  attention  of  these  offi- 
cers. 

In  calling  their  attention  to  them,  I  said :  ''You 
would  have  some  trouble  in  handling  that  trio." 

"My  word,  we  would,  especially  with  the  woman. 
They  give  more  trouble  than  the  men,"  he  replied. 

"That  has  been  characteristic  of  the  sex  since 
Mother  Eve  behaved  so  badly,"  I  said.  The  opinion 
of  a  bachelor  is,  after  years  of  observation,  that  women 
can  rise  higher  and  sink  lower  than  men. 

A  few  minutes'  walk  from  where  I  left  the  police- 
man brought  me  into  another  small  street  where  the 
people,  like  those  in  Petticoat  Lane,  had  either  lost 
their  calendar  or  had  forgotten  the  commandment  in 
reference  to  the  Sabbath.  The  little  shops,  as  well  as 
the  lads  with  their  barrows  with  fruit  and  vegetables, 
were  doing  a  thriving  business.  In  passing  down  the 
centre  of  the  street  I  overtook  a  very  rustic  looking 
man  and  boy  taking  in  the  sights  of  the  city. 

"This  is  a  bad  section  of  the  city,"  I  remarked  to  the 
man  in  passing. 

"Eh,  my  word,  but  it's  a  knocker,"  he  replied  in 
broad  English.  "But  say,"  he  added,  "it's  a  cheap 
place  to  get  a  dinner.  We  just  got  hall  we  could  heat 
for  a  sixpence.     I'll  show  you  the  place  if  you  like." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      325 

"Thank  you,"  I.  replied,  "1  will  not  take  the  time  to 
stop  now."  I  should  have  had  to  wait  a  long  time  to 
have  had  edge  enough  on  my  appetite  to  have  hidden 
anything  away  in  one  of  those  little,  dingy  restaurants. 
We  passed  a  barrow  on  which  were  sliced  watermelon. 
It  was  the  first  I  had  seen  since  leaving  America  as 
they  are  not  grown  in  the  British  Isles.  They  have  a 
melon  w^hich  they  get  from  Spain  and  the  South  of 
France  which  they  consider  very  fine,  but  it  was  rather 
insipid  to  my  taste,  being  accustomed  to  the  luscious 
red  melon  grown  in  miany  of  the  states. 

"What's  that  stuff?"  said  the  man. 

"It's  watermelon,"  I  replied. 

"My  word,  but  I  never  saw  it  before.  It's  a  queer 
lot,"  he  said. 

I  left  my  rustic  acquaintance  and  his  boy  still  looking 
at  the  sights  and  made  my  way  back  to  Russel  Square, 
not  soon  to  forget  my  visit  to  the  slums. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  in  company  with  Mr.  Hall, 
of  Waterville,  Maine,  I  visited  a  large  mission  school 
in  Spitalfields,  which  joins  the  Whitechapel  district. 
This  mission  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  and  was  organized  by  them  many  years  ago. 
They  have  accomplished  a  vast  amount  of  good  in  that 
district.  There  was  a  very  large  attendance,  and 
most  of  the  scholars  were  neatly  clad  and  gave  strict 
attention  to  the  speaker.  At  the  close  of  the  session 
the  superintendent  took  us  through  some  of  the  small 
streets  in  the  vicinity.  When  the  children  saw  him 
coming  they  ran  up  to  him,  some  taking  him  by  the 
hand  and  others  laid  hold  on  his  coat  tail  and  ex- 
pressed  themselves  as  being  glad  to  see  him. 

"There  will  be  a  very  odd  little  fellow  come  out  of 


326      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

one  of  these  houses  when  he  hears  the  tumult,'*  said 
the  superintendent.  "You  will  smile  when  you  see 
how  he  is  dressed." 

We  did  more  than  smile  when  we  saw  this  odd  little 
bundle  of  humanity  come  bounding  out  of  the  house 
wearing  a  queer  looking  cap  with  a  faded  union  jack 
tied  about  his  neck  and  a  huge  pair  of  trousers,  held 
up  on  one  side  by  a  string  which  he  had  utilized  for 
a  suspender  and  which  was  shortened  so  that  the  trous- 
ers also  answered  for  a  shirt.  He  began  jumping 
backwards  and  shouted  the  name  of  the  superintend- 
ent. 

"That  is  the  way  that  little  fellow  always  greets 
me,"  said  the  superintendent.  "He  is  a  bright  boy 
and  with  proper  training  would  make  a  fine  man." 

The  parents  of  the  children  showed  profound  re- 
spect for  this  gentleman  and  his  fellow-worker.  One 
of  the  mission  workers  was  a  friend  of  mine  and  a 
nephew  of  Rev.  Chas.  Bowden,  who  also  was  inter- 
ested in  that  mission  when  a  young  man.  His  mother, 
who  was  an  influential  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  could  go  into  any  part  of  that  district  without 
fear  of  being  molested. 

SOME  OF  THE  LONDON  MARKETS- 

The  Smithfield  meat  market  is  the  largest  in  the 
world.  It  is  on  the  grounds  once  used  for  the  revels, 
miracle  plays  and  tournaments  of  Bartholomew  fair, 
and  later  for  the  martyrdom  of  "Bloody  Mary"  and 
Elizabeth.  As  one  walks  through  this  immense  mar- 
ket, which  covers  three  and  a  half  acres  under  roof, 
and  sees  the  great  quantity  of  meat,  he  wonders  how 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      327 

they  manage  to  dispose  of  it.  But  the  six  milHons  of 
Londoners  and  heavy  sprinkling  of  Yankees  with 
keen  edges  on  their  appetites,  soon  clear  the  old  mar- 
ket. The  vast  majority  of  the  cattle  is  shipped  from 
our  own  great  stock  raising  country.  The  Covent 
Garden,  flower  and  vegetable  market,  is  well  worth  a 
visit.  Several  times  I  have  gone  through  this  market 
on  my  way  to  Maiden  Lane  to  call  at  the  business 
house  of  a  friend  formerly  of  America.  One  day  I 
stopped  in  this  market  and  watched  a  number  of  wo- 
men hulHng  walnuts.  They  used  their  fingers  dexter- 
ously. Standing  near  me  was  a  rough  looking  fellow 
in  company  with  a  woman  that  matched  him  nicely. 
He  was  trying  to  guy  the  women  but  they  could 
use  their  tongues  as  rapidly  as  their  fingers  and  passed 
him  out  the  ready  change.  One  of  the  women  called 
to  the  woman  with  this  fellow  and  said : 

"Say,  Liz,  con't  you  come  down  here  and  do  a  bit 
of  work?" 

''Eh,  but  Liz  con't  work,"  the  man  replied. 

"She  can  pick  'ops  in  Kent,"  called  out  another  wo- 
man. 

"She  con't  even  do  that,"  he  said,  "but  she  can 
drink  what  is  made  of  the  'ops,"  and  added :  "Con't 
you  Liz?"  She  assented  with  a  nod  and  joined  in  the 
laugh  with  the  hullers.     He  turned  to  me  and  said: 

"Con't  you  give  me  a  threpenc  or  so  to  get  coffee 
for  these  old  gals?  They  have  been  workin'  since 
early  this  mornin'."  I  did  not  contribute  anything, 
for  I  thought  that  he  and  his  companion  and  many  of 
the  "old  gals"  had  the  appearance  of  taking  some- 
thing stronger  than  coffee.  I  remained  watching  the 
"old  gals"  until  some  of  them  began  passing  out  re- 


328  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

marks  to  me  that  were  badly  frayed  out  and  I  thought 
it  wise  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

The  Billingsgate  fish  market  is  also  considered  the 
largest  fish  market  in  the  world.  One  would  think  so, 
as  he  passes  through  this  place  and  sees  the  great 
quantities  of  fish  of  various  kinds  that  are  unloaded 
daily  from  the  steamers  near  by.  I  watched  with  in- 
terest the  men  wearing  odd  looking  leather  hats  on 
which  they  carried  the  large  trays  of  fish.  I  saw  im- 
mense quantities  of  shrimp.  Baked  shrimp  seemed 
to  be  a  favorite  dish  with  many  of  the  Londoners.  I 
did  not  acquire  an  appetite  for  them  or  the  cockels 
that  I  have  sometimes  had  set  before  me.  The  crabs 
are  of  extraordinary  size.  One  of  the  fish  mongers 
gave  me  the  shell  of  one  of  them  which  I  brought 
home  with  me. 

"Does  Mr.  S —  live  here?"  I  inquired  of  a  woman 
at  the  door  of  a  house  in  East  London. 

"No,  sir,"  was  her  reply,  "and  it  must  be  sometime 
since  he  did,  for  we  have  lived  here  for  several  years." 

"Well,  I  have  a  message  for  him  from  friends  -in 
America  and  this  is  the  address  they  gave  me,"  I  said. 

"They  may  be  able  to  give  some  account  of  him  at 
yon  grocery  shop,  for  they  have  lived  in  this  locality 
many  years,"  she  repHed.  It  occurred  to  me  if  the 
proprietor  was  as  old  as  the  shop  apeared  to  be,  he 
could  tell  me  of  those  that  lived  in  that  neighborhood 
a  century  ago.  There  was  a  woman  attending  the 
shop  who  proved  to  be  a  regular  bureau  of  informa- 
tion. She  not  only  gave  me  the  gentleman's  address, 
but  also  of  other  relatives  of  my  friends  in  America. 
In  directing  me  she  said  in  broad  English :  "Go  to  the 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      329 

bottom  of  yon  street  and  take  the  first  turning  on  the 
left." 

I  found  my  way  to  the  number  given  and  knocked 
at  the  door  of  this  home.  It  was  answered  by  a  very 
refined  Httle  woman  who,  on  learning  my  errand,  in- 
vited me  in  to  await  the  coming  of  her  husband.  On 
entering  the  parlor  I  was  introduced  to  her  daughter 
and  son-in-law  who  were  persons  with  whom  one 
could  at  once  feel  at  home.  When  her  husband  ar- 
rived and  he  learned  there  was  a  Yankee  in  the  parlor 
with  a  message  from  America,  he  was  not  long  in  mak- 
ing his  appearance  and  listened  with  rapt  attention  as 
I  talked  of  the  friends  far  away. 

''Uncle  left  London  many  years  ago,  when  I  was  a 
little  boy,  but  I  have  heard  father  and  mother  speak  of 
him  so  often,  I  have  always  kept  up  my  interest  in  him 
and  his  family,"  he  remarked. 

"Were  you  ever  through  the  Thames  Subw^ay?"  he 
inquired  as  I  was  about  leaving. 

"No,"  I  replied,  "but  should  be  pleased  to  go 
through."  -  ' 

"My  son-in-law  and  I  will  accompany  you  if  you 
wish  to  go  home  that  way,"  he  said.  We  walked 
down  along  the  great  East  India  docks  and  to  several 
other  places  of  interest  and  finally  took  seats  on  top 
of  a  'bus  and  rode  through  the  subway.  It  was  walled 
up  for  some  distance  from  the  entrance.  It  was  very 
briUiantly  lighted  by  electricity  which  had  a  very  fine 
effect  on  the  light  colored  glazed  brick  arch.  One 
could  scarcely  realize  he  was  down  beneath  the  river 
Thames  on  whose  bosom  were  sailing  crafts  of  various 
kinds.  I  concluded  if  anything  gave  way  above  we 
would  receive  our  final  shower  bath. 


330  A  YANiCEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

On  coming  out  of  the  subway  we  rode  down 
through  Greenwich  which  is  also  a  very  old  and  his- 
toric  place.  There  is  a  very  large  hospital  here  for 
aged  and  disabled  seamen  of  the  royal  navy.  It  is 
built  on  the  site  of  the  old  palace  where  Henry  VIII 
was  born  and  where  he  and  Anne  Boelyn  joined 
hands  in  matrimony.  Edward  VI  died  in  this  old 
palace.  We  saw  a  number  of  old  weather-beaten  ma- 
rines who,  from  their  appearance,  had  given  the  good 
old  Queen  excellent  service.  When  we  reached  the 
point  where  I  was  to  take  a  'bus  for  Westminster,  the 
gentleman  said :  "Before  you  go  I  would  like  to  take 
you  through  this  old  church." 

I  readily  consented  for  I  was  always  interested  in 
visiting  these  old  edifices.  After  spending  some  time 
with  them  in  looking  through  this  church  and  grave- 
yard with  its  many  ancient  tombs,  I  bade  them  adieu 
and  seated  myself  on  the  top  of  another  'bus  and  was 
soon  making  my  way  to  Westminster.  We  were  de- 
layed some  time  in  waiting  for  a  parade  to  pass,  of 
which  I  had  a  good  view  from  my  lofty  seat.  A  man 
sitting  beside  me  began  a  conversation  with  me, 
through  which  he  wove  many  threads  of  complaint. 

'The  tide  of  misfortune,"  he  said,  "has  swept  me 
over  on  the  hard  side  of  life  and  but  for  my  good  wife 
and  children  I  would  soon  end  the  whole  thing."  I 
did  my  best  to  induce  him  to  relight  the  "Lantern 
of  Hope"  by  telling  him  of  the  better  life. 

"Oh,  sir,  that  subject  is  as  dark  to  me  as  midnight," 
he  said  in  a  sad  tone  of  voice. 

"It  was  to  me  at  one  time,"  I  repHed. 

"I  wish  I  could  think  as  you  do,"  he  remarked,  as 
he  was  leaving  the  'bus. 


A  YAN'k£E  BACHELOR  ABROAD.  331 

From  the  Westminster  Bridge  I  walked  to  my 
lodgings  at  Riissel  Square.  It  was  a  long  walk,  but  it 
gave  me  an  opportunity  of  seeing  something  of  Lon- 
don life  by  gas  hght.  What  a  variety  of  characters 
swept  along  the  crowded  thoroughfares.  Some  at- 
tired in  clothing  of  the  latest  style,  bedecked  with 
flashy  diamonds,  and  others  whose  taste  or  purse  did 
not  call  for  anything  quite  so  loud,  and  others  who,  if 
they  had  seen  better  days,  had  been  carried  by  some 
strong  current  to  a  stage  where  even  common  cloth- 
ing was  a  scarcity.  One  day  as  I  wended  my  way 
through  the  different  sections  of  the  city  I  made  a 
note  of  some  of  the  odd  names  of  the  streets.  St. 
Mary's  Axe,  Bull's  Head  Passage,  Hounds'  Ditch, 
Stoney  Lane,  Black  Gravel  Lane,  Harrow  Alley, 
Brushfield  Street,  Acorn  Street,  Skinner  Street,  Spital 
Square,  White  Lion  Street,  Plough  Yard,  Curtain 
Street,  Puddin  Lane,  Pie  Corner,  Milk  Street,  Bread 
Street,  Love  Lane,  Threadneedle  Street.  It  amused 
me  one  day  as  we  came  to  what  is  called  the  Elephant 
and  Castle  on  the  Surry  side  to  hear  the  conductor 
shout  in  the  door  with  his  broad  EngHsh  accent,  "Ele- 
phant and  Costle."  Many  of  the  districts  have  pecu- 
har  names.  One  of  them  was  ''Mother  Shipton." 
The  streets  of  London  are  not  laid  out  with  any  regu- 
larity and  strangers  have  some  difficulty  in  finding 
their  way  about. 


332      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

MY  TRIP  TO  PARIS. 

IT  was  on  the  eve  of  the  August  bank  hoHday  when 
I  returned  from  Dubhn  to  London.  While 
many  of  the  Londoners  had  arranged  for  a  day's 
plesure  in  and  around  the  city,  I  had  planned  a  trip  to 
Paris.  But,  alas,  when  the  day  dawned  the  sun  was 
hidden  by  dark,  lowering  clouds  and  the  wind  was 
blowing  fiercely.  In  a  short  time  the  clouds  shook 
great  sheets  of  water  down  over  the  city  which  was 
swept  by  the  wind  in  all  directions  until  one  found  an 
umbrella  a  useless  article.  My  trip  to  Paris  had  been 
postponed  from  time  to  time  and  now  I  found  myself 
with  only  a  few  remaining  days  previous  to  sailing  for 
home  and,  in  order  to  return  in  time  for  the  steamer, 
was  obliged  to  go  that  evening.  The  English  chan- 
nel, I  was  quite  sure,  was  greatly  disturbed,  for  it,  like 
the  Irish  sea,  is  easily  excited,  which  I  had  just  crossed. 
But  rather  than  leave  for  America  without  seeing 
Paris,  which  I  had  always  heard  spoken  of  as  the  finest 
city  in  the  world,  I  concluded  to  undergo  the  severe 
pummeling  that  I  was  sure  I  would  receive  from  this 
old  body  of  water.  When  the  storm  abated  "a  wee 
bit"  I  turned  my  steps  toward  Cook's  office  at  Ludgate 
Circus  to  purchase  my  ticket. 

On  my  way  I  passed  a  lady  and  gentleman  whom, 
at  a  glance,  I  knew  were  Americans,  and  I  wondered 
from  what  part  of  Uncle  Sam's  great  country  they 
hailed.     Shortly  after  my  arrival  at  the  office,  they 


A  TYPICAL  FRENCH   TOWN. 
Sketched  by  Chas.  K.  Wood,  of  I  land  Heights,  N.  J.,  in  1897. 


334  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

entered.  She  came  up  to  me  and  said :  "This  is  Mr. 
Butler,  is  it  not?" 

"It  is/'  I  repHed,  "but  you  have  the  advantage  of 
me." 

Just  then  the  gentleman  stepped  up  and  said :  "This 
is  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D — ,  and  reside  in  the  same  city  in 
which  you  do  and  I  have  frequently  seen  you." 

Alhough  I  had  no  recollection  of  ever  seeing  their 
faces  before,  yet  I  was  wonderfully  pleased  to  meet 
this  excellent  man  and  his  wife  whom  I  have  since 
come  to  know.  They  were  the  only  ones  I  had  met 
from  my  city  during  my  absence  of  fourteen  months. 
In  making  some  inquiry  about  the  accommodation 
on  the  steamer  of  the  clerk  in  the  office,  he  said : 

"Take  my  advice  and  buy  a  first  class  ticket,  for  you 
will  need  the  very  best  this  evening  for  comfort." 

"Do  you  think  it  will  be  very  bad,  crossing?"  I  in- 
quired. 

"I  should  not  care  to  be  crossing,"  he  replied.  His 
rem.ark  rather  unsettled  me,  but  I  soon  dismissed  the 
thought  of  abandoning  the  trip.  On  going  to  the 
reading  room  connected  with  the  office,  which  seemed 
to  be  one  of  the  headquarters  for  Americans,  I  said  to 
a  young  man  who  had  several  American  papers  gath- 
ered about  him :  "Is  there  a  Philadelphia  paper  among 
those?" 

"No,  sir,"  he  replied,  "but  here  is  a  London  paper. 
I  should  think  that  was  low  enough  for  you." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "I  presume  you  are  from  New  York." 

"No,  I  am  from  California,"  he  replied. 

"I  was  not  aware  that  Philadelphia's  reputation  for 
slowness  was  so  far  reaching,"  and  added :  "She  may 
not  keep  pace  with  her  tall  sisters,  New  York  and  Chi- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      335 

cago,  along  some  lines,  but  for  beauty  and  comforta- 
ble homes  cannot  be  excelled." 

The  storm  was  raging  with  renewed  force  and  the 
small  streets  in  the  section  I  passed  through  to  shorten 
my  distance  to  Russell  Square  were  filled  with  men 
and  women  who  were  celebrating  bank  holiday  in  fine 
style.  While  the  elements  had  dampened  the  exter- 
ior, many  of  them  had  moistened  the  interior  with 
'"alf  and  'alf."  The  publicans  were  well  satisfied  with 
the  state  of  the  weather,  for  the  shillings  that  would 
have  otherwise  gone  into  the  cofifers  of  the  railroad 
and  seamboat  companies  were  dropped  into  their  tills. 
Among  the  drenched  pieces  of  humanity  on  one  of 
these  streets  were  three  women  who  had  imbibed  an 
article  that  made  them  rather  hilarious.  Two  of  them 
were  elderly  women  and  the  other  was  middle-aged. 
The  latter  would  break  out  and  sing  a  song,  then  vary 
it  w4th  a  song  and  dance.  The  other  two  old  dames 
would  gather  up  their  mud-besprinkled  dresses  and 
join  in  the  hop. 

A  young  woman  of  respectable  appearance  came  up 
to  one  of  the  elderly  women  and  said :  "Mother,  come 
home." 

"Eh,  child,  leave  your  mother  alone.  We  are  h'out 
for  a  good  time,"  said  the  younger  woman.  The 
daughter  semed  to  be  quite  ashamed  of  her  mother's 
conduct  and  finally  left  the  trio.  They  started  down 
the  street  with  locked  arms.  One  of  them  held  an 
old  umbrella  over  them.  It  was  so  full  of  rents  that  it 
rendered  them  but  little  service.  As  I  stood  on  the 
corner  of  one  of  those  streets  and  saw  the  crowds 
pouring  into  the  public  houses  and  then  later  on,  in 
going  to  the  station  and  meeting  very  many  of  the  pa- 


336      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

trons  of  these  places,  I  concluded  the  publicans  were 
the  principal  ones  that  were  benefitted  by  bank  holi- 
day, especially  so  if  it  proved  to  be  a  stormy  day.  If 
England  does  not  soon  use  some  measure  to  stay  the 
tide  of  intemperance,  she  will  become  a  nation  of 
drunkards. 

Sitting  in  front  of  me  in  the  omnibus  on  my  way  to 
London  Bridge  station,  where  I  was  to  take  the  train 
for  New  Haven,  was  a  little,  hen-pecked  looking  man 
and  a  woman  of  considerable  size.  He  wagged  his 
tongue  at  a  very  rapid  rate  and  she  tried  to  quiet  him, 
but  failed.  She  gave  him  a  sharp  look  and  said: 
''Hauld  yer  tongue." 

He  replied  in  broad  English,  "Eh,  h'old  woman; 
it's  bank  'oliday  and  I'm  h'out  for  a  good  time.'* 

She  scowled  at  him  and  again  bade  him  be  quiet. 
That  look,  I  presume,  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
have  quieted  the  old  lad  but  for  the  heavy  cargo  of 
"'alf  and  'alf"  he  had  imbibed. 

''Hold  woman,"  he  said,  in  a  way  that  amused  the 
passengers  and  caused  a  faint  smile  to  play  over  the 
face  of  his  old  woman,  "ye  may  quiet  a  man's  tongue 
but  ye  con't  never  get  a  woman's  still."  But  the  opin- 
ion of  the  passengers  was  that  she  was  having  as  much 
trouble  with  her  loquacious  old  lad  as  she  would  with 
one  of  her  own  sex. 

At  the  station  I  engaged  in  conversation  with  two 
young  m.en  v/ho  informed  me  they  were  from  Water- 
bury,  Connecticut,  and  were  en  route  for  Paris,  and 
the  following  Saturday  were  to  embark  for  New  York 
from  Cherbourg  on  the  St.  Louis. 

"You  will  have  me  for  a  fellow  passenger,  if  the  old 
channel  does  not  treat  me  too  roughly,"  I  remarked. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      337 

''This  is  a  wild  storm  in  which  to  cross,"  said  one  of 
them,  "but  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  face  it." 

Near  us  were  two  women  and  a  boy.  We  soon 
learned  the  boy  was  a  Yankee.  In  conversation  with 
him  he  informed  us  he  was  from  New  York  and  was 
in  company  with  his  mother  and  aunt.  The  latter 
lived  in  Cork,  and  they  were  all  on  their  way  to  Paris. 

"Do  yees  think  it  will  be  bad  goin'  over  to-night?" 
she  inquired,  and  when  I  informed  her  I  thought  it 
would,  there  was  a  look  took  possession  of  her  face 
that  I  read  as  wishing  she  was  in  Cork.  We  were  soon 
hurrying  away  to  New  Haven  and  on  our  arrival  found 
the  storm  even  more  severe  than  when  we  left  Lon- 
don. The  wind  was  sighing  through  the  rigging, 
making  a  very  hideous  sound,  and  as  a  louder  blast 
swept  over  the  craft  a  desire  took  hold  of  me  to  step 
ashore.  The  table  was  in  readiness  for  the  hungry 
passengers,  but  most  of  them  were  in  the  same  frame 
of  mind  we  were  and  did  not  lay  in  an  extra  stock  for 
Neptune.  Three  Irish  fellows  secured  berths  near  us. 
One  of  them  was  full  of  wit  and  fun  and  kept  his  com- 
panions in  a  roar  of  laughter. 

"Och,  sure,  we'll  get  a  batterin'  to-night,"  he  re- 
marked, and  added :  "I'll  give  the  captain  a  pound  note 
if  he'll  make  me  unconscious  until  I  get  to  France." 

"You  will  be  very  conscious  before  reaching  there," 
I  replied.  Just  previous  to  leaving  the  wharf,  one  of 
the  waiters  removed  everything  that  was  breakable 
and  fastened  the  dead  lights  securely.  Then  evidently 
believing  we  would  be  liberal  to  Neptune,  he  pre- 
sented us  with  what  I  styled  "individual  contribution 
boxes." 

"You  need  not  leave  one  with  me,"  I  remarked. 


^2 


33^      A  YANKEE  BACHELOiR  ABROAD. 

"I  shall  not  contribute  anything  this  evening  to  the 
cause." 

"Just  keep  it,  sir;  you'll  be  needin'  it  before  the  voy- 
age is  h'over,"  he  replied. 

When  he  gave  the  witty  Irish  fellow  his  contribu- 
tion box  he  said,  in  a  way  that  made  us  all  laugh  heart- 
ily :  "Take  that  away  and  bring  me  a  barrel." 

His  berth  was  just  above  mine  and  I  remarked  to 
him:  "Don't  be  too  free  with  your  decorations;  re- 
member the  tall  Yankee  below." 

He  leaned  over  the  side  of  his  berth  and  said:  "I 
pity  ye." 

Only  a  short  time  after  our  steamer  left  the  wharf  I 
joined  my  fellow  passengers  in  an  acrobatic  exhibi- 
tion. Our  craft  rolled  over  on  her  side  and  went 
down  until  my  tall  form  was  perpendicular.  As  I 
saw  my  feet  far  above  my  head  and  we  still  descend- 
ing, I  thought  I  would  much  rather  be  using  my  feet 
walking  the  streets  of  London  than  to  be  gazing  at 
them  in  the  top  of  the  berth,  and  I  regretted  very 
much  that  they  had  carried  me  to  Cook's  office.  In 
spite  of  my  serious  thoughts  and  very  sober  feelings,  I 
laughed  as  our  ship  righted  herself  and  I  caught  sight 
of  the  countenance  of  a  man  sitting  on  a  sofa  near  my 
berth.  He  evidently  found  no  poetry  in  that  song, 
entitled  "A  life  on  the  Ocean  Wave."  In  a  short  time 
he  led  off  in  a  solo  which  was  followed  by  a  chorus, 
in  which  all  the  passengers  joined.  There  were  many 
discordant  notes,  but  there  were  no  critics  present. 
One  of  the  Yankees,  whose  berth  was  beside  mine, 
said  very  faintly:  "Neighbor,  how  are  you  making 
out?" 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD.      339 

''Oh,  I  am  busy  extracting  the  juice  of  a  lemon  and 
still  holding  my  own/'  I  replied. 

"Oh,  my,  this  is  dreadful;  I  wish  I  was  ashore." 

"I  think  I  shall  have  to  pay  my  respects  to  Nep- 
tune," said  his  brother,  and  he  did  it  with  groanings 
that  were  uttered  loudly.  The  Irish  lads  had  ceased 
to  pass  out  their  Irish  wit  and  were  engaged  in  look- 
ing over  their  accounts.  When  my  "partner  in  dis- 
tress" beside  me  again  asked  the  question  as  to  my 
condition,  my  answer  was  not  so  favorable  as  at  first. 
The  lemon  had  slipped  from  my  grasp  and  in  my  at- 
tempt to  secure  it,  lost  my  balance  and  laid  violent 
hands  on  my  little  "contribution  box"  and  "lifted  up 
my  voice  and  cried  aloud  and  spared  not."  It  amAised 
me  very  much  as  I  saw  the  Yankee  near  me  making 
a  great  effort  to  be  generous. 

"Oh,  my,  I  wish  I  had  a  glass  of  water,"  he  said. 

"Call  the  steward.  He  will  get  it  for  jou,"  I  re- 
plied. 

"Oh,  I  can't,"  he  rephed  faintly. 

"Well,  I  have  a  second-handed  lemon  rolling  about 
in  my  berth;  will  you  have  it?" 

"Oh,  I'll  take  anything,"  was  his  answer. 

In  my  attempt  to  do  the  good  Samaritan  act,  an- 
other fit  of  generosity  took  possession  of  me  and  this 
time  I  gave  until  I  felt  it  keenly. 

The  Yankee  called  out  and  said,  "I  shall  have  to  be 
carried  out  on  a  stretcher  to-morrow  morning.  If  I 
ever  get  back  to  America  I  shall  remain  there."  But 
when  the  morning  dawned  and  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  quiet  harbor  of  Dieppe,  he  sprang  from  his  berth 
and  without  any  assistance  hurried  ashore.     Someone 


340      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD. 

remarked  to  one  of  the  ladies  that  the  ship  had  struck 
something. 

"Oh,  I  hope  she  has  and  goes  down,"  was  her  reply. 
Upon  coming  on  deck  I  met  the  two  Irish  women  and 
the  boy. 

"How  did  you  make  out  last  night?"  I  inquired. 

The  woman  from  Cork  said:  "Make  out?  Why,  I 
niver  put  in  such  a  night  in  me  life.  I  wouldn't  come 
agin  for  twinty  pounds." 

If  I  was  caught  again  in  such  a  storm  I  thought  I 
would  loose  "twinty  pounds"  in  avoirdupois.  The 
sailors  said  they  never  experienced  such  a  severe 
storm.  The  English  papers  stated  "That  Britain's 
sons  usually  ruled  the  waves,  but  in  the  fearful  storm 
of  last  night  the  waves  ruled  them."  I  remarked  to 
the  lads  that  some  of  Uncle  Sam's  boys  were  badly 
treated.  We  learned  on  landing  that  our  steamer 
was  the  only  one  that  left  England  for  France  and 
only  one  left  there  for  England,  and  that  our  voyage 
was  attended  with  great  danger. 


EN  ROUTE  TO  PARIS. 


At  the  restaurant  at  Dieppe  we  had  some  difficulty 
in  making  the  waiters  understand  our  wants,  but  after 
getting  a  light  breakfast  they  had  no  trouble  in  fixing 
the  price  for  our  scant  meal.  Dieppe  is  a  summer  re- 
sort and  is  a  town  of  considerable  size.  The  houses 
were  built  principally  of  light  colored  stone.  There 
is  an  old  castle,  built  in  1433,  and  a  very  ancient 
church  called  St.  Jacques,  who  was  patron  saint  of 
fishermen. 

We  had  very  little  time  to  see  much  of  the  old  town, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD      341 

The  train  was  in  readiness  near  the  landing  to  convey 
us  to  Paris.  In  further  conversation  with  the  Irish 
fellows,  I  learned  that  two  of  them  were  the  nephews 
of  a  Belfast  friend  and  that  I  had  met  one  of  the 
members  of  their  family  at  their  uncle's  home.  They 
invited  me  to  accompany  them  to  Paris,  as  did  the 
Yankees.  We  passed  through  a  very  pretty  section 
of  the  country  where  my  attention  was  attracted  by 
the  many  little  vegetable  farms.  There  were  long  nar- 
row strips  of  various  kinds  of  vegetables  growings 
which  we  all  considered  a  very  odd  way  of  farming. 
There  was  also  an  absence  of  fences.  The  train 
stopped  at  several  towns  and  villages,  the  names  of 
which  the  guard  called,  but  we  made  no  attempt  to 
repeat  the  name.  There  were  none  of  us  who  had 
made  a  study  of  French,  and  if  we  had,  might  have 
been  Hke  many  others  who,  when  they  came  to  put  it 
to  a  practical  use  in  France,  found  their  French  quite 
different  from  what  is  spoken  there.  We  passed 
through  quite  a  portion  of  the  city  before  reaching 
the  station.  It  reminded  me  of  Brussels,  which  is 
said  to  be  Paris  on  a  small  scale.  When  I  came  out 
into  the  streets  of  Paris  it  was  with  a  different  feeling 
than  when  I  visited  Antwerp  and  Brussels.  There  I 
was  entirely  alone  and  had  very  little  use  for  my 
tongue,  for  I  could  not  be  understood  only  by  mo- 
tions. When  I  attempted  to  talk  with  the  people  they 
would  elevate  their  hands  and  shake  their  heads  and 
pass  on,  leaving  me  w^ondering  what  I  should  do. 

At  the  station  we  took  a  'bus  and  rode  out  to  Cook's 
hotel,  near  the  Exhibition  grounds.  It  was  a  long 
ride,  but  it  afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
city. 


342      A  YANKEE  BACHEDO'R  ABROAD 

"Look  at  those  Frenchmen  scowling  at  us,"  said 
one  of  the  Irish  fellows.  'They  have  no  love  for 
English  speaking  people  and  especially  the  EngHsh." 

There  was  a  strong  feeling  against  England,  and 
many  of  the  French  papers  bitterly  denounced  the 
Queen  and  her  government.  The  cartoon  of  the 
Queen  in  the  papers  were  a  very  great  insult  to  the 
English  people. 

There  were  a  great  many  Americans  at  the  hotel, 
and  as  I  gathered  with  them  in  and  around  the  read- 
ing room  and  heard  their  "Yankee  twang,"  it  semed 
I  had  suddenly  dropped  down  in  America.  They 
were  from  the  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  but 
I  felt  akin  to  all  of  them.  There  is  a  kindred  feeling 
seems  to  take  possession  of  one  as  he  meets  one  of 
Uncle  Sam's  subjects  in  a  distant  land,  and  when  he 
sees  the  Stars  and  Stripes  flung  to  the  breeze,  he  feels 
inclined  to  stand  under  Old  Glory  and  sing  the  "Star 
Spangled  Banner." 

When  we  came  out  of  the  hotel  grounds  on  our  way 
to  the  Exposition,  we  were  beseiged  by  women  and 
men  selling  souvenirs  and  exhibition  tickets.  These 
tickets  we  purchased  at  a  very  low  figure.  As  we  only 
expected  to  remain  a  short  time  in  Paris,  we  passed 
through  the  Exposition  very  hurriedly.  The  grounds 
were  beautifully  laid  out  and  there  were  many  fine 
large  buildings.  The  Exhibition  was  quite  similar  to 
others  I  had  attende'd,  but  I  was  quite  interested  in 
looking  at  the  products  of  the  different  countries,  ar- 
tistically arranged,  and  the  latest  improved  machin- 
ery and  various  kinds  of  exhibits  that  were  placed  be- 
side those  of  the  long  ago.  In  passing  some  Amer- 
icans, I  overheard  them  say  "Our  World's  Fair  a,t 


A  YAiNKEE  BAiCHELO'R  ABROAD  343 

Chicago  far  surpassed  this."  As  I  did  not  attend  that 
Fair  at  Chicago,  I  was  not  able  to  make  any  compar- 
isons. When  I  discovered  the  Stars  and  Stripes  I 
said  to  the  Irish  lads :  "That  department  will  interest 
me."  They  were  also  greatly  interested  in  the  pro- 
ducts of  our  wonderful  country  and  especially  so  in  the 
agricultural  department,  where  there  was  a  fine  dis- 
play. They  regarded  the  Indian  corn  on  the  cob  a 
curiosity,  having  never  seen  it  in  that  form. 

"There  are  two  Yankees,"  I  remarked  as  a  gentle- 
man and  lady  approached  us. 

"Do  you  think  so?"  one  of  the  lads  repUed. 

"Yes,  and  I  will  soon  demonstrate  it  to  you." 
When  they  came  over  where  we  were  standing,  I  said 
to  them: 

"Excuse  me,  but  I  think  I  can  hail  you  as  my  fellow 
countryman,  as  I  am  a  native  of  America." 

"Indeed  you  can,  sir,  and  we  are  proud  of  our  dear 
old  country,"  he  replied. 

"I  told  these  young  men  when  I  saw  you  coming 
into  the  department  you  were  Americans."  The  lit- 
tle woman  looked  up  into  my  face  and  said  in  a  very 
emphatic  manner : 

"Yes,  we  are  Americans  from  the  crown  of  our 
heads  to  the  soles  of  our  feet,  and  from  the  soles  of 
our  feet,  to  the  crown  of  our  heads,  and  we  will  be  glad 
to  again  see  home." 

"In  what  part  of  the  country  do  you  live?"  I  in- 
quired. 

"Kingston,  N.  Y.,"  he  replied.  "We  sail  for  New 
York  on  Saturday  on  the  St.  Louis." 

To  my  surprise,  when  I  went  to  my  stateroom  on 
t;he  St.  Louis,  I  found  this  same  little  man  I  met  at  the 


344  A  YAiNiKEE  BMCHEDOiR  ABROAD 

Exposition  was  to  be  one  of  my  room-mates.  He 
proved  to  be  a  very  excellent  man  and  before  we 
landed  in  New  York  I  had  added  to  my  list  of  friends 
he  and  his  good  wife. 

"My,  but  you  Yankees  do  rave  over  your  country 
and  flag,"  said  one  of  the  Irish  lads. 

"Well,  I  can't  describe  to  you  the  feeling  that  takes 
possession  of  every  true  American  when  he  catches 
sight  of  Old  Glory  or  speaks  of  his  country.  Your 
love  for  Old  Ireland  and  the  Union  Jack  will  give  you 
some  idea,"  I  replied. 

We  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day  in  the  Expo- 
sition and  in  the  evening  visited  the  Kaffir  village  and 
the  Transvaal  building.  As  we  walked  through  the 
miniature  streets  of  the  village  and  peeped  into  the 
little  huts  and  saw  the  Kafifars  living  as  they  do  in  their 
far-off  country,  one  could  almost  imagine  himself 
there.  In  passing  one  of  these  little  huts  we  saw  one 
of  the  women  reclining  on  a  rude  looking  bed,  puffing 
on  a  pipe,  and  near  her  was  a  little  bundle  of  un- 
bleached humanity,  having  the  appearance  of  being  a 
new  arrival.  One  of  the  young  Kaffirs,  wearing  a 
white  robe,  spoke  to  me  in  broken  English.  I 
stopped  and  had  a  brief  conversation  with  him.  Just 
before  leaving  him,  he  said : 

"Me  a  Christian.  A  missionary  came  to  Africa; 
he  tell  me  about  Christ." 

Before  leaving  the  building  we  concluded  the  beg- 
ging qualities  of  the  women  and  children  had  reached 
perfection.  The  childrens'  clothing  was  made  of  very 
scant  patterns.  We  climbed  the  stairway  leading  to 
the  Transvaal  building.  There  were  a  company  of 
men  and  women  giving  an  exhibition  of  Boer  life, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD  345 

As  we  came  near  the  stand  on  which  were  seated  the 
band,  composed  principally  of  men  from  the  Trans- 
vaal, they  scowled  at  us  and  made  remarks  to  each 
other. 

'They  think  we  are  English,"  I  remarked. 

"Sure,  if  they  find  out  we  are  Irish,  they  will  scowl 
more  than  ever,"  said  one  of  the  lads,  "for  the  Irish  sol- 
diers have  done  them  lots  of  damage  in  South  Africa." 

We  seemed  to  be  about  the  only  English  speaking 
people  in  the  building.  The  lads  became  interested 
in  another  part  of  the  building  and  I  remained  near 
the  stand.  During  the  intermission  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  band  came  over  near  me  and  as  I  turned 
around  quickly,  caught  one  of  them  making  war-like 
gestures. 

"Do  you  speak  English?"  I  inquired  of  one  of  them. 

"Some  little,"  he  replied  in  broken  English.  "What 
country  are  you  from?"  he  asked. 

"I  am  from  America,"  I  replied.  His  countenance 
quickly  changed  and  he  said  with  a  smile : 

"That  is  the  country.  The  Americans  are  our 
friends.  Our  band  is  expecting  to  go  over  there 
some  time  soon,"  and  added :  "When  we  saw  you  fel- 
lows, we  thought  you  were  English  and  had  no  use 
for  you." 

"We  saw  by  your  countenance  you  were  not  pleased 
with  our  company,"  I  replied. 

"No,  we  want  nothing  to  do  with  the  English,"  he 
said.  I  did  not  tell  them  the  three  fellows  with  me 
were  fresh  from  the  Old  Sod.  A  young  man  engaged 
in  conversation  with  me  who  informed  me  that  he  was 
engaged  with  this  company  during  the  Exhibition  and 
s^id  his  home  was  in  New  York,  but  be  had  left  there 


346  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABR^..D 

several  years  ago  with  a  theatrical  troupe  and  had  been 
"knocking"  about  ever  since.  He  was  a  very  intelli- 
gent fellow. 

''You  are  not  filling  the  niche  for  which  you  were 
intended,"  I  said  to  him. 

''I  am  aware  of  that,  sir,"  he  replied.  ''Many  times 
I  think  I  will  return  home  and  try  to  get  a  good  sit- 
uation and  make  something  of  myself."  I  left  him 
hoping  his  resolutions  were  made  of  lasting  material. 

The  following  day  the  Irish  chaps  went  to  a  point 
near  Paris  and  I  sallied  forth  to  the  city,  as  I  was  to 
leave  that  evening  for  London.  In  riding  through 
the  city  on  top  of  one  of  the  trams,  I  met  a  gentleman 
from  America  who  had  been  living  in  Paris  for  some 
time.  He  gave  me  some  points  of  interest  about  the 
city  and  on  coming  to  one  of  the  magnificent  boule- 
vards, he  said : 

"If  you  get  off  here  you  will  find  several  interesting 
places  in  this  section." 

A  few  minutes'  walk  along  this  beautiful  thorough- 
fare brought  me  to  one  of  the  public  buildings.  It 
was  a  massive  structure,  having  the  appearance  of 
being  built  for  a  century. 

"What  building  is  this?"  I  inquired  of  several  per- 
sons, but  the  only  answer  I  received  was  the  shrug  of 
their  shoulders  and  the  lifting  of  their  hands.  I  soon 
found  my  tongue  was  a  useless  member  in  the  midst 
of  my  French  brothers  and  sisters.  After  a  hurried 
visit  to  this  building  I  came  out  on  to  one  of  the  busi- 
ness centres  where  there  were  many  elegant  stores. 
Upon  entering  one  of  the  stores  to  make  a  purchase 
I  prepared  myself  to  make  my  wants  known  by  signs, 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD       347 

but  to  my  great  surprise  the  young  lady  asked  me  in 
English,  ''What  do  you  wish?" 

My  wanderings  brought  me  to  an  immense  church 
called  St.  Magdalene.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  edifices  in  Paris.  There  was  a  funeral  service 
being  held  in  the  church,  which  I  witnessed.  It  was 
some  prominent  person,  judging  from  the  great  con- 
course of  people  and  service.  There  was  a  procession 
of  priests  marching  around  the  remains,  chanting  the 
funeral  ceremony.  There  were  floral  designs  in 
abundance,  so  much  so  that  when  the  coffin  was 
placed  in  the  hearse,  they  hung  some  of  the  designs 
on  the  outside.  After  the  service  I  was  interested  in 
looking  about  this  massive  structure.  On  the  grand 
altar  is  the  assumption  in  white  marble  and  also  a  paint- 
ing of  Magdalene  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  In  the  colon- 
ade  are  niches  containing  figures  of  saints.  This 
church  is  330  feet  by  130  feet.  On  the  bronzed  doors 
are  subjects  from  the  Old  Testament.  In  a  part  of 
the  city  which  seemed  to  be  very  old  there  was  a 
very  quaint  market.  In  passing  the  stores,  I 
seemed  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  odd-looking 
market  people  and  their  customers.  They  evidently 
took  me  for  an  Englishman,  for  their  looks  were  not 
of  a  very  friendly  kind.  Their  love  for  their  neighbors 
across  the  channel  has  never  been  very  warm  and  re- 
cently it  seems  to  have  been  greatly  chilled  for  reasons 
best  known  to  themselves.  In  going  down  one  of  the 
large  boulevards  I  came  to  a  seat  arranged  in  front  of 
one  of  the  large  stores.  A  lady  and  little  boy  took  a 
seat  beside  me  and  began  a  conversation  in  English. 

''Excuse  me,"  I  said,  "but  I  am  glad  to  hear  some 
gne  speaking  English." 


348  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

''Yes,  I  am  from  Old  England,"  she  replied,  "and  I 
am  proud  of  it.  I  am  very  indignant  at  two  French- 
men in  yonder  store.  They  thought  I  did  not  under- 
stand French  and  made  some  very  insulting  remarks 
about  me  being  English.  I  gave  them  a  piece  of  my 
mind." 

If  she  was  as  fluent  in  French  as  she  was  in  her  own 
language,  there  was  a  small  chance  of  the  French- 
men defending  themselves. 

"They  have  insulted  our  dear  old  Queen  and  be- 
haved very  badly  to  us  as  a  nation,"  she  further  re- 
marked. 'Tf  they  keep  on  we  will  have  to  thrash 
them." 

It  occurred  to  me  if  the  people  were  all  in  the  same 
frame  of  mind  as  was  this  w^oman,  it  would  not  be  long 
before  there  would  be  the  smoke  of  battle  seen  on  the 
English  channel.  A  short  walk  from  this  point 
brought  me  to  the  English  and  American  quarters, 
in  which  were  many  large  and  handsome  stores.  The 
familiar  names  on  the  signs  gave  me  rather  a  home- 
like feehng. 

On  my  way  to  the  Exposition  I  called  at  a  restau- 
rant to  look  after  the  wants  of  the  inner  man.  Not 
one  of  the  waiters  could  understand  English  and  my 
knowledge  of  French  consisted  of  just  two  words,  and 
they  were  not  such  as  would  give  them  any  light  as  to 
what  I  wished.  Not  until  I  had  used  my  index  finger 
several  times  in  pointing  to  some  articles  of  food  did 
I  succeed  in  getting  the  edge  taken  off  of  my  appetite. 
On  coming  into  the  Exposition  grounds  at  another 
point  I  had  a  better  idea  of  them  and  greatly  admired 
their  beauty.  While  in  the  Art  Gallery  I  met  a  young 
German  who  proved  to  be  a  very  interesting  fellow. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD  349 

In  the  course  of  our  conversation  he  informed  me  he 
had  been  Hving  in  London  for  some  time,  but  was  on 
his  way  back  to  Germany  to  serve  in  the  army  the  re- 
quired time  to  retain  his  citizenship.  He  talked  very 
enthusiastically  of  his  country  and  said  he  wondered 
why  England  and  America  were  not  more  closely  al- 
lied to  Germany. 

"Well,"  I  replied,  ''England  and  America  speak  the 
same  language  and  are  practically  our  own  people, 
and  you  know  you  can  get  closer  in  feelings  to  one  of 
whom  you  can  express  yourself." 

"Well,  I  suppose  that  is  the  reason,"  he  said. 

"You  seem  to  be  alone.  I  would  be  glad  to  have 
you  accompany  me  through  the  Exhibition." 

"I  should  enjoy  it  all  the  more  having  company," 
he  replied. 

On  coming  to  one  of  the  refreshment  stands  we 
saw  a  large  glass  vessel  in  which  was  a  tempting  look- 
ing drink.  Seeing  the  lemons  floating  on  the  surface 
I  thought  it  was  something  in  my  line  and  invited 
him  to  take  a  glass  with  me. 

"No  thank  you,"  he  said ;  "I  don't  care  for  it." 

Neither  did  I  when  I  took  one  sip,  which  I  quickly 
got  rid  of. 

"What  sort  of  a  drink  is  that,"  I  asked. 

He  laughed  and  said,  "It  is  a  concoction  of  licorice 
and  lemon." 

My  taste  was  not  French  enough  to  again  call  for 
that  beverage.  We  came  to  another  refreshment 
stand  and  called  for  milk.  He  understood  French 
and  inquired  the  price.  When  the  girl  informed  him 
he  turned  to  me  and  giving  the  amount,  said : 

"You  surely  will  not  pay  that  much  for  it?" 


350      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

''Well,  we  must  have  it,"  I  replied ;  "but  tell  her  we 
could  almost  buy  the  cow  in  America  for  that." 

There  was  a  look  of  contempt  on  her  face  as  she 
said :  "And  in  England,  too." 

After  he  had  interpreted  her  remark,  he  said :  "They 
charge  you  Americans  and  English  people  a  great  deal 
more  than  the  people  of  the  continent." 

The  afternoon  was  spent  very  pleasantly  with  this 
bright,  intelligent  German. 

I  met  the  Irish  fellows  again  and  we  took  tea  to- 
gether  at  a  restaurant  near  Cook's  hotel.  "This  is 
strange  kind  of  meat,"  I  remarked  to  the  lads. 

One  of  them  said  :  "Sure,  they  tell  me  they  eat  horse 
meat  in  Paris  and  I  think  this  is  a  piece  of  animal  that's 
done  a  bit  of  hard  work." 

My  suspicion  was  strong  enough  for  me  to  leave 
most  of  the  piece  of  the  old  "nag"  for  the  proprietor 
to  utilize  for  hash. 

When  I  bade  the  Irish  lads  good-bye  they  said : 
"You  may  see  us  in  America  some  time." 

"Come  along,  boys ;  there  is  lots  of  room  for  such  as 
you,"  I  replied. 

I  have  so  often  heard  of  the  gaiety  of  Paris  by  gas 
light,  but  one  can  never  know  until  he  walks  its  streets 
and  sees  the  great  multitude  of  people  whose  sole  ob- 
ject seems  to  be  to  find  the  gay  side  of  life.  In  front 
of  the  cafes  are  little  gardens  in  which  can  be  seen  men 
and  women  sitting  around  the  tables  sipping  wine 
and  other  strong  drinks.  I  saw  very  little  drunken- 
ness though,  in  the  parts  of  the  city  I  passed  through 
on  my  way  to  the  station.  There  were  many  places  of 
interest  in  Paris  I  desired  to  visit  but  was  obliged  to 
hasten  back  to  London.     Among  the  most  interest- 


lifrir- 1 


"^m  ^„mMM^^^^m 


RUIN3  OF  A  FRENCH   CASTLE. 
Sketched  by  Chas  K.  Wood,  of  Island  Heights,  N.  J.,  in  1897, 


352  A  YAiNiKEE  BAOHELC'R  ABROAD 

ing  was  Notre  Dame,  the  cathedral  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Paris,  built  in  1163.  It  is  417  feet  long,  156  feet 
wide,  no  feet  high.  In  the  revolution  in  1793  the 
church  was  converted  into  a  'Temple  of  Reason." 
Another  place  was  Palisade  Justice  and  the  prison  of 
the  Conciergerie  where  Marie  Antoinette  and  so  many 
other  victims  of  the  revolution  were  imprisoned.  The 
Palais  du  Luxembourg,  built  161 5,  and  Palais  Royal 
and  also  Bois  de  Boulogne,  which  is  the  chief  park  in 
Paris.  It  comprises  a  tract  of  2250  acres.  I  also  re- 
gretted not  to  be  able  to  take  one  of  the  many  steam- 
ers that  run  to  points  along  the  River  Seine.  On  my 
return  from  Dieppe  to  New  Haven,  I  found  the  chan- 
nel had  calmed  down  and  treated  me  very  kindly. 
The  daylight  ride  from  New  Haven  to  London  gave 
me  an  opportunity  to  see  that  beautiful  section  of  Old 
England. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD  353 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

LEAVING  OLD  ENGLAND. 

@N  my  arrival  in  London  from  Canterbury  the 
day  previous  to  sailing  for  home  I  was  kept 
busy  making  my  final  arrangements  for  my 
homeward  trip  and  bidding  adieu  to  my  London 
friends.  One  of  them  living  at  South  Croyden,  a  sub- 
urb of  London,  expressed  himself  as  being  desirous  of 
going  back  to  America.  He  had  spent  several 
months  in  the  United  States  and  had  a  very  warm  feel- 
ing for  the  country.  I  think  he  would  have  been  con- 
tent to  have  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  under  the  shadow 
of  "Old  Glory."  My  luggage  had  been  transferred 
to  the  Waterloo  station,  so  that  when  the  day  dawned 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  hie  away  to  the 
station. 

Before  the  busy  feet  of  the  multitudes  were  pressing 
the  streets  of  this  wonderful  city  I  wended  my  way 
from  Russell  Square  along  Southampton  Row  and 
down  through  Great  Queen  street  and  out  to  the 
Strand  to  Waterloo  bridge.  A  short  walk  from  the 
bridge  brought  me  to  the  station  in  which  I  found  a 
great  number  of  people  from  various  parts  of  the  world 
with  their  odd  belongings  awaiting  to  be  transferred 
to  the  steamer.  Some  of  them  had  very  sad  faces 
and  seemed  to  regard  very  seriously  leaving  the  old 
home.  Others  were  well  advanced  in  life  and  it  oc- 
curred to  me  it  was  doubly  hard  for  them  to  bid  adieu 


23 


354      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

to  old  friends  and  take  the  voyage  of  3,000  miles  to 
make  a  new  home  in  a  strange  land. 

One  of  my  friends  had  presented  me  with  a  tin 
trunk,  in  which  I  had  placed  my  belongings.  Those 
who  saw  it,  securely  fastened  with  an  abundance  of 
rope,  evidently  thought  it  was  the  property  of  some 
one  from  a  rural  district,  en  route  for  Yankee  Land. 

"Porter,  come  take  my  luggage  to  the  van,"  could 
be  heard  on  every  hand.  These  men  with  their  trucks 
were  kept  busy,  but  not  too  busy  to  tarry  a  few  min- 
utes for  the  fee  that  one  is  expected  to  give  them. 
They  seemed  to  be  reaping  a  harvest  of  coppers. 

One  is  supposed  to  look  after  his  own  luggage  when 
traveling  in  the  British  Isles,  as  they  have  not  as  yet 
adopted  the  checking  system  such  as  we  have  in 
America.  Any  one  disposed  to,  can  claim  your  lug- 
gage if  you  are  not  at  the  van  to  look  after  it. 

One  morning  on  coming  into  Liverpool  from  Bel- 
fast in  company  with  a  friend,  I  had  the  vexing  ex- 
perience of  losing  my  luggage.  My  friend,  who  was 
a  resident  of  Belfast,  made  frequent  business  trips  to 
London  and  other  points  in  England.  I  was  en  route 
for  Northampton  and  he  was  going  to  Stafford  to  join 
me  later  at  the  former  place.  He  was  confident  that 
he  needed  no  information  as  to  stations  or  trains.  As 
we  seated  ourselves  in  the  'bus  that  met  the  steamer, 
I  said  to  him : 

"You  had  better  inquire  whether  this  takes  us  to  the 
right  station." 

"You  just  make  yourself  easy,"  he  replied;  "we 
Irish  always  know  where  we  are  going." 

"We  Yankees  generally  know,  and  if  we  have  any 
doubt  we  have  sense  enough  to  inquire,"  I  said. 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD       355 

He  smiled  complacently  and  said :  "There's  no  need 
of  any  questions  about  it."  On  reaching  the  station 
we  seated  ourselves  in  the  compartment,  he  with  a 
great  deal  of  assurance  and  I  a  *Vee  bit"  uncertain. 

''Show  your  tickets,"  said  the  conductor,  as  he 
boarded  the  train  a  few  minutes  before  leaving. 
When  he  saw  my  friend's  ticket,  he  said  in  a  very  ex- 
cited manner: 

"Get  off  at  once;  you  are  on  the  wrong  road,"  and 
as  he  did  so,  grasped  my  portmanteau  along  with  my 
friend's  and  hurriedly  left  the  compartment,  followed 
by  my  crest-fallen  friend. 

"I  am  going  to  Northamption,"  I  said  to  the  con- 
ductor as  he  alighted  from  the  moving  train. 

"You're  all  right,"  he  replied. 

Immediately  I  missed  my  traveUng  bag  and  shouted 
to  my  friend  to  take  it  in  charge.  When  I  gathered 
myself  together  it  occurred  to  me  if  my  friend  was  on 
the  wrong  road,  I  was  too,  for  our  tickets  were  for  the 
same  line.  When  the  train  slowed  up  at  Edge  Hill, 
one  of  the  stations  in  Liverpool,  I  hurried  from  the 
train  and  made  my  way  back  to  the  station,  only  to 
learn  that  my  friend  had  gone  to  Stafford  and  that  my 
portmanteau  had  been  hurriedly  thrown  into  the  lug- 
gage van  of  the  train  I  had  just  left.  One  man  con- 
soled me  by  saying  that  I  would  have  considerable 
difficulty  in  getting  it  and  the  chances  were  that  I  had 
seen  the  last  of  it.  Fortunately  my  name  and  address 
were  on  the  tag  and  after  several  telegrams  had  been 
sent  to  some  of  the  stations  along  the  line  and  to  Lon- 
don, it  came  to  me  all  intact  at  Northampton.  I  con- 
cluded if  a  "wee  man"  laid  hands  on  my  belongings  he 


356  A  YAiN'KEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

would  have  to  take  several  reefs  in  them  before  he 
would  be  presentable. 

The  crowd  at  the  Waterloo  station  kept  increasing, 
until  I  began  to  think  our  craft  would  be  taxed  to  her 
utmost  if  she  was  to  carry  them  all  to  the  United 
States.  As  the  time  arrived  for  the  train  to  depart 
for  Southampton,  there  were  some  very  affecting 
scenes  as  the  friends  on  the  platform  bade  adieu  to 
some  of  those  bound  for  the  new  world. 

"Write  as  soon  as  you  land  and  don't  forget  us  in 
your  new  home,"  was  the  charge  given  by  those  in 
tears  as  the  train  moved  off  and  left  them  waving  a 
good-bye. 

There  was  a  celebrated  Baptist  clergyman  form  Bos- 
ton, Mass. J  in  the  compartment  with  me  and  also  two 
gentlemen  from  Washington,  D.  C.  We  all  soon  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  each  other,  the  drift  of  it 
being  in  reference  to  our  trip  through  the  old  country 
and  about  our  coming  voyage.  Each  of  us  was  cur- 
ious to  know  how  old  ocean  would  treat  us.  The 
clergyman  had  a  fine,  open  face,  which  proved  to  be 
the  true  index  of  the  warm,  genial  nature  he  possessed 
and  which  was  thoroughly  appreciated  by  those  who 
came  to  know  him. 

On  reaching  Southampton,  we  found  the  landing  a 
very  busy  place.  The  sailors  were  engaged  in  lifting 
the  great  number  of  huge  trunks  into  the  hold  of  the 
immense  steamer  and  the  passengers  were  carefully 
seeing  after  their  luggage  that  was  marked  ''wanted," 
to  make  sure  it  reached  their  state  room.  When  I 
saw  the  bachelor's  tin  trunk  safely  stowed  away,  I 
stepped  aboard  of  the  magnificent  steamer,  St.  Louis, 
of  the  American  line,  with  a  great  deal  of  faith  in  her 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD       357 

ability  to  convey  me  safe  to  the  shores  of  America. 
While  standing  on  the  deck,  the  Baptist  clergyman 
came  up  to  me  and,  calling  my  attention  to  a  lady 
with  three  little  girls,  said : 

"There  is  a  sad  sight.  That  lady  is  one  of  our  for- 
eign missionaries  and  is  sending  her  little  girls  over  to 
our  home  for  the  children  of  our  foreign  missionaries. 
She  does  not  expect  to  see  them  for  at  least  seven 
years,"  and  added :  "Her  husband,  who  is  at  present  in 
America,  will  soon  join  her  and  then  return  to  their 
field  of  labor." 

"Why  don't  they  take  the  children  with  them?"  I 
inquired. 

"Well,  there  are  no  educational  advantages  where 
they  are  laboring,"  he  replied,  "and  while  it  is  a  severe 
trial  for  them  to  be  separated  from  their  children,  yet 
they  are  willing  to  have  it  so  in  order  to  give  them 
an  education." 

When  the  huge  whistle  blew  as  the  signal  for  the 
steamer  to  leave,  the  mother  warmly  embraced  the 
girls  and  in  turn  the  girls  clung  to  the  mother.  Those 
that  witnessed  that  parting  scene  will  not  soon  forget 
it.  Some  of  the  passengers  remarked  that  the  little 
girls  needed  the  attention  of  the  mother  more  than 
any  one  in  the  foreign  mission  field.  They  were  very 
bright,  intelligent  girls  and  soon  became  great  fav- 
orites with  many  of  the  passengers.  They  each  ex- 
pressed themselves  as  being  anxious  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  mission  work.  Some  one  said  to  the 
younger  one : 

"We  will  make  a  Yankee  of  you." 

"Oh,  you  con't  do  that ;  L  shall  never  be  anything 
else  but  English,"  she  replied.     What  a  joy  came  to 


358       A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABkOAD 

their  young  hearts  when  they  caught  sight  of  their 
father  when  our  steamer  came  into  the  wharf  at  New 
York.  This  clergyman,  who  was  interested  in  this 
home  for  foreign  missionaries'  children,  had  these 
little  girls  under  his  charge  during  the  voyage.  Quite 
often  the  children  of  the  missionaries  are  separated 
from  them  for  the  sake  of  their  health  or  educational 
advantages.  While  in  Belfast  I  met  two  little  boys 
who  were  sons  of  a  missionary  in  Japan.  They  came 
entirely  alone  from  that  distant  land  to  Belfast  to 
finish  their  education  in  the  Campbell  College. 

I  was  curious  to  know  what  sort  of  lads  were  to  share 
with  me  the  comforts  of  my  room.  The  first  to  put  in 
an  appearance  was  a  young  man  just  a  trifle  beyond 
his  majority.  He  wore  a  very  scant  hat  under  which 
was  a  well  rounded  face,  partially  covered  with  what 
evidently  was  his  first  crop  of  whiskers.  They  re- 
minded me  of  corn  silk  peeping  from  the  husk. 
When  he  discovered  the  post  projecting  from  the  cen- 
tre of  his  berth,  he  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"How  do  they  think  I  am  going  to  sleep  in  that 
berth?" 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "you  will  have  to  do  so  on  the 
bias."  He  fretted  and  fumed  until  he  ran  the  ther- 
mometer well  up  toward  a  hundred.  When  he  left 
the  room,  I  concluded  if  he  was  a  sample  of  the  com- 
ing room-mates,  I  would  have  to  handle  them  care- 
fully. 

As  I  was  squaring  my  luggage  away,  the  little  man 
I  met  at  the  Paris  Exposition  entered  the  room,  and 
to  whom  I  have  already  referred.  On  our  arrival  at 
Cherbourg,  France,  a  typical  descendant  of  Abraham 
came  into  the  room  and  placed  his  luggage  in  the 


A  YAiNKEE  BACHELO'R  ABROAD  359 

berth  below  mine.  He  was  one  of  those  men  that 
needed  no  introduction.  He  had  an  abundance  of 
tongue  as  well  as  a  full-fledged  proboscis.  He,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  a  very  pleasant  and  obliging  young 
fellow,  as  did  my  other  room-mates.  We  had  consid- 
erable fun  with  the  fellow  who  complained  of  the  in- 
convenience of  sleeping  around  a  post.  He  was  one 
of  those  men  who  enjoyed  taking  a  joke,as  well  as 
giving  one.  One  morning  as  we  were  leaning  over 
our  berths  having  a  friendly  chat,  the  Jew  discovered 
that  our  young  friend  had  disposed  of  his  crop  of  whis- 
kers. 

"My  goodness  gracious,"  he  said.  ''I  wondered 
what  made  our  steamer  roll  so  last  night.  Why,  we 
have  lost  some  of  our  ballast.  Our  friend  has  cut  off 
his  whiskers."  We  made  the  Httle  state-room  ring 
with  laughter  at  the  Jew's  funny  remark. 

We  had  a  great  number  of  very  excellent  people  on 
board.  Among  some  with  whom  I  became  ac- 
quainted was  an  Episcopal  clergyman  and  three  Bap- 
tist and  two  Methodist  clergymen,  and  also  a  Catholic 
priest.  One  of  the  Methodist  ministers  bore  my  full 
name.  He  was  inclined  to  regard  life  very  seriously 
and  usually  sat  alone  on  deck  in  a  very  pensive  mood, 
but  it  was  owing  to  the  rough  treatment  he  received 
from  Neptune.  Dr.  W — ,  one  of  the  Baptist  minis- 
ters, who  resided  in  Chicago,  was  a  huge  bundle  of 
fun  and  by  his  bright,  genial  manner  won  his  way 
into  the  hearts  of  the  passengers.  One  of  the  other 
ministers  of  the  Baptist  persuasion  was  a  young  man 
in  company  with  his  wife.  They  were  from  New  Lib- 
erty, Ky.  We  found  them  exceptionally  fine  people. 
All  the  divines  did  their  best  to  make  the  voyag'e  a 


36o  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

pleasant  one  for  their  fellow  passengers.  We  also 
had  several  professional  and  business  men  who  seemed 
to  be  at  home  on  the  bright  side  of  life.  Most  of  the 
passengers  were  American  tourists  who  had  been  ab- 
sent from  home  for  a  few  months.  They  expressed 
themselves  as  being  very  desirous  of  seeing  Old  Co- 
lumbia's shore.  Among  some  of  the  very  interesting 
characters  was  a  widow,  her  daughter  and  son.  They 
had  been  touring  through  the  British  Isles  and  quite 
extensively  on  the  continent.  She  was  the  owner  of 
a  large  sheep  ranch  in  Wyoming,  and  we  were  all  con- 
vinced that  she  was  well  able  to  properly  manage  it. 
While  they  were  not  polished  up  as  neatly  as  were 
many  of  the  passengers,  yet' they  soon  made  their  real 
worth  known.  The  daughter  said,  in  conversation, 
with  some  of  us,  that  her  mother  at  one  time  did  not 
see  a  woman  for  about  two  years,  as  they  lived  a  long 
distance  from  any  family.  The  daughter  had  a  fond- 
ness for  poetry  and  entertained  with  her  choice  selec- 
tions those  of  us  whose  taste  ran  along  that  line. 
Her  recitations,  given  at  our  concert,  called  forth 
heavy  encores. 

One  fellow  from  Dakota  who,  like  myself,  had  been 
in  the  world  quite  awhile  and  had  traveled  along  the 
road  of  life  without  a  partner,  went  about  among  the 
passengers  scattering  sunshine.  I  styled  him  the 
"jolly  old  bachelor."  When  we  were  inclined  to  re- 
gard "a  life  on  the  ocean  wave''  too  seriously  he,  by 
his  witty  and  cheerful  remarks,  usually  caused  a  smile 
to  play  on  our  faces.  We  had  several  young  couples 
who  spun  threads  of  romance  through  their  home- 
ward trip.     They  evidently  did  not  mean  to  follow 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD  361 

the  example  of  the  several  bachelors  and  as  many  ne- 
glected sisters  that  graced  the  ship's  company. 

On  Sabbath  morning  Dr.  W —  conducted  service 
and  in  the  afternoon  the  Episcopal  clergyman  held 
forth,  but  the  attendance  was  very  small,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  very  many  were  having  dealings  with 
Neptune.  The  writer  was  expecting  to  be  raided  by 
tiie  old  lad  and  trembled  at  times,  being  near  the  dan- 
ger line,  but  managed  to  escape.  One  evening  the 
passengers  crowded  into  the  large  saloon  to  listen  to 
the  mock  trial.  It  was  a  divorce  case  and  the  parts 
were  well  taken.  The  Episcopal  clergyman  acted  as 
judge.  The  ladies  secured  some  very  ancient  looking 
clothing  for  the  lad  who  took  the  part  of  ''Mary 
Brown,"  which  greatly  amused  the  audience.  The 
whole  thing  was  over  on  the  funny  side  and  all 
during  the  trial  there  were  roars  of  laughter  that 
nearly  broke  up  the  court.  The  next  evening  we  held 
a  concert.  They  arranged  a  very  lengthy  program, 
and  some  of  the  talent  for  length  was  in  keeping  with 
the  program,  especially  so  when  a  tall  Yankee  bach- 
elor with  an  autoharp  came  out  and  sang  an  original 
piece,  entitled  ''My  Dear  Old  Home,"  with  the  chorus 
"Home,  Sweet  Home,"  in  which  that  large  audience 
joined  and  sang  lustily. 

This  was  the  most  enjoyable  of  all  my  ocean  trips. 
The  weather  was  very  fine  most  of  the  time  and  our 
steamer,  for  comfort  and  convenience,  was  all  that 
could  be  desired.  We  received  excellent  service  and 
the  oflficers  and  crew  were  fine,  obliging  men  and 
seemed  to  study  the  comfort  of  the  passengers.  If  the 
reader  is  anticipating  an  ocean  voyage  and  has  a 
heavy  bank  account,  and  wishes  to  go  first  cabin,  he 


362      A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

will  find  this  steamer  fitted  up  in  a  magnificent  man- 
ner, and  if  his  account  is  somewhat  limited  and  he  pre- 
fers to  take  up  his  quarters  in  the  second  cabin,  he  will 
find  splendid  accommodation.  My  first  trip  by  the 
American  line  from  Philadelphia  was  also  a  very  sat- 
isfactory one. 

When  the  lights  from  the  shores  of  America  flashed 
out  over  the  dark  waves,  a  feeling  of  joy  thrilled  the 
heart  of  every  Yankee  on  that  noble  craft.  I  felt  quite 
sure  as  the  pleased  look  played  over  the  faces  of  the 
Yankee  passengers  as  we  steamed  up  the  New  York 
harbor,  that  they  were  all  in  full  accord  with  the  poet : 
'There's  no  place  like  home." 

"All  come  to  the  saloon  and  make  your  declaration,'* 
shouted  one  of  the  ship's  crew.  We  found  it  rather  a 
trying  ordeal  that  hot  August  day  as  we  slowly 
wended  our  way  to  one  of  the  custom  house  officials 
and  made  our  statement  as  to  whether  we  had  any- 
thing dutiable  in  our  "bundles."  There  was  a  general 
complaint  of  the  slow  system  compared  to  that  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic.     One  man  near  me  said : 

"I  believe  in  high  tariff,  but  not  in  this  unreasonable 
way  of  levying  a  duty  on  a  few  gifts  I  have  for  my 
friends." 

But  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  fall  in  line 
with  Uncle  Sam's  way  of  doing  business.  After  go- 
ing through  with  the  saloon  ordeal,  then  we  formed 
in  line  and  in  single  file  made  our  way  to  the  desk  of 
the  officer  in  charge  on  the  wharf.  I  concluded  be- 
fore reaching  him  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  the 
grace  of  patience.  On  presenting  our  compliments 
to  the  officer  he  turned  us  over  to  the  inspector  of  the 
section  of  which  our  check  indicated.     The  only  fa- 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD       363 

miliar  face  I  saw  on  coming  on  the  wharf  was  Mr.  A. 
Hewitt,  of  Belfast,  who  had  landed  the  week  previous, 
and  at  whose  home  in  Belfast  I  had  spent  many  pleas- 
ant evenings  with  his  excellent  father  and  mother  and 
their  three  sons,  of  whom  they  could  well  be  proud. 
When,  by  his  assistance,  my  luggage  was  in  readiness 
to  be  examined,  I  said  to  the  good  natured  inspector : 
"Come  and  look  over  the  belongings  of  a  bachelor." 
He  smiled  as  he  saw  my  tin  trunk,  which  had  been 
badly  battered  during  the  voyage  and  which  had  been 
very  hurriedly  packed. 

"Shall  I  lift  the  contents  of  the  trunk?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  no,"  he  said,  as  he  gathered  up  a  few  articles 
that  I  felt  quite  sure  were  not  dutiable.  He  seemed 
to  be  satisfied  with  my  willingness  to  turn  my  little 
all  over  for  inspection,  and  gave  my  luggage  the  clear- 
ance mark. 

After  bidding  adieu  to  several  of  my  fellow  passen- 
gers, I  made  my  way  to  Courtland  street  and  was  soon 
speeding  away  from  the  great  metropolis  to  the  grand 
old  city  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  arrival  of  the  writer 
to  the  "Bachelor's  Sanctum,"  he  found  his  purse  a 
"wee  bit"  lighter  than  when  he  left,  but  he  was  rich  in 
his  experience  of  fourteen  months  in  the  British  Isles, 
most  of  which  was  spent  on  the  Old  Sod. 


A  YAiN'KEE  BAiCHELO'R  ABROAD  365 


Bpttapbs  (ropie&  trom  Some  of  tbe  01^  Cbutcb 
l^ar^s  In  ]£nQlan^♦ 


This  world's  a  city  full  of  crooked  streets; 
Death  is  a  market  place  where  all  men  meet. 
If  life  was  merchandise  that  men  could  buy 
The  rich  would  live  and  the  poor  would  die." 

"Oh,  bring  no   price,  God's  grace  is  free. 
To  Paul,  to  Magdalene,  and  me." 


"Death  comes  in  unexpected  forms 

At  unexpected  hours; 
To-morrow  we  may  never  see, 

To-day  alone  is  ours. 
'Tis  well  sometimes  to  recollect 

How  fast  our  moments  fly, 
And  never  while  we  live  forget 

How  soon  we,  too,  may  die." 

'Oh,  cruel  death,  how  could  you  be  so  unkind 

To  take  him  before  and  leave  me  behind; 

Why  not  take  both  of  us  if  either. 

Which  would  have  been  more  pleasing  to  the  survivor.' 

"Farewell,  vain  world,  I've  had  enough  of  thee. 
And  now  am  careless  what  thou  sayest  of  me. 
Thy  smiles  I  count  not,  nor  thy  frowns  I  fear, 
Thy  cares  are  past,  my  head  lies  quiet  here. 
What  faults  you  saw  in  me  take  care  to  shun 
And  look  at  home,  enough  there  to  be  done." 


3/S6  A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD 

"He  is  not  dead,  the  child  of  our  affection. 

But  gone  to  that  school 
Where  he  no  longer  needs  our  poor  protection, 

And  Christ  Himself  doth  rule. 


"She  was  truly  amiable  and  exemplary  as    a    wife,    mother 
and  friend.    Her  virtues  too  rare  for  even    her    children    to 
hope  to  inherit." 

Here  lies  a  woman,  good  without  pretense, 
Blest  with  plain  reason  and  sober  sense. 
So  unaffected,  so  composed  a  mind, 
So  firm  yet  soft,  so  strong  yet  so  resigned; 
Heaven  has  its  purest  gold  by  torture  tried; 
The  saint  sustained  it,  but  the  woman  died." 

"The  Christian  navigates  a  sea 

Where  various  forms  of  death  appear 
No  skill,  alas,  or  power  has  he 

Aright  his  dangerous  course  to  steer. 
His  distant  land  he  sometimes  sees, 

And  thinks  his  toils  will  soon  be  o'er. 
Expects  some  favorable  breez 

Will  waft  him  to  that  shore." 

"Life  is  short 

And  death  is  sure 
Sin's  the  wound 

And  Christ  the  cure." 

"To  live  in  hearts  we  leave  behind  is   not  to  die." 

! 

"While  earth-born  beauty  fades  and  dies 

In  darkness  deep  as  midnight  air, 
The  white-winged  spirit  scales  the  skies 

And  lives  in  golden  rapture  there." 


A  YANKEE  BACHELOR  ABROAD      367 

"She  was,  but  words  are  wanting  to  say  what, 
Say  what  a  woman  ought  to  be  and  she  was  that." 

"Bold  infidelity  turn  pale  and  die, 
Under  this  stone  an  infant's  ashes  lie. 

Say,  is  it  saved  or  lost? 
If  death  by  sin,  it  sinned,  for  it  lies  here; 
If  heaven  by  works  in  heaven  it  can't  ap^ar. 

Ah,  Reason!  how  depraved. 
Review  the  Bible's  sacred  page.  The  knot's  untied, 
It  died  through  Adam;  it  lives,  for  Jesus  died. 

"This  turf  has  drunk  a  widow's  tears. 
Three  of  her  husbands  slumber." 


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